Chapter 180
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 180
Chapter Title: Pursuit Across Ten Thousand Miles (2)
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“Hoo.”
Even if I'd succeeded in tying down the Profound Realm expert's feet, slipping quietly out of Mount Hua wasn't going to be easy.
Shaking off the Azure Heaven Society goons who kept popping up intermittently to grab at my ankles was a chore in itself, as was neatly folding them up and rendering them useless.
“To think someone dares invade Mount Hua!”
“Ah, shit.”
And to top it off, even the Plum Blossom disciples—who were trickier to deal with than the Azure Heaven Society thugs and left no room for a proper fight—had respawned.
To avoid a late cherry blossom ending amid the spring breeze, my only option was to completely suppress my presence and slink away.
If I could freely wield Chugwi's power, that'd be one thing.
But there was no way my qi and blood would come out unscathed after compressing enough force to blow up a mountain into an Invincible Meteor Strike.
“Hoo, hoo.”
The price for leaping off the cliff: a slightly twisted ankle and the sharp, lingering pain shooting up my spine.
The backlash from pushing past my limits without even using pressure point seals, leaving my qi and blood raging wildly like an angry mob.
Just a little.
If only I could sit down for even a moment to circulate my energy and catch my breath...
Swaeeek—
Degururu...!
“Agh, shit.”
In response to the barrage of sword qi aimed at my back, I unwittingly unleashed the Heavenly Demon Roll.
Should've worn the Thousand Zams Black Dragon Robe if I'd known.
Should've grabbed the Hahoe mask too...!
I cursed my past careless self.
“Grrrr—”
After taking in the sight of one Azure Heaven Society thug tumbling backward from my Rage Poison Palm, I plunged downward again, and again.
But.
Where to go...?
Rejoining the academy was out of the question from the start.
That would mean heading back up to Mount Hua as student council president, and the moment I did, the Chairman would catch me and string me up dangling in midair.
The promise?
I wouldn't keep it myself, that kind of promise.
If I'd only half-assed the power control, maybe, but I'd lobbed an Origin Pearl that even made a Profound Realm expert hesitate and bolted—would she really let me live?
Unless they were a die-hard righteous faction zealot, deluded into thinking their own actions were justice, no way.
“...She might let me live?”
My mouth betrayed my brain with those words.
But the arrow had already left the bowstring anyway.
Even if the Chairman said she'd spare me.
My potential was already laid bare for all to see.
Her suspiciously loyal subordinate A was more likely to smash my head in with a 'Chairman, I'll defy orders just this once...!'
“You bastard!”
“Whoa! You know the bastard too!”
I gifted another charging foe—who swung a blade even deadlier than Blood Wolf Sword— the sensation of heaven and earth flipping.
And I ran.
Ran blindly, desperate to escape everything in this world.
I'm alone...
.
.
.
After running for what felt like ages, the moment I finally escaped Mount Hua's territory.
“Ha, shit.”
The vast Central Plains plain stretched out before me, so open it made the mountains feel comforting by comparison.
At least mountains had spots to shake off pursuers.
Where the hell was I supposed to hide in this barren wasteland?
By now, my ankle was so twisted that it refused to move unless I forced it with sheer spite.
If I weren't calm enough to spout nonsense despite all this, I'd probably be rolling on the ground right now.
First things first.
I checked the makeshift mask from torn cloth again, adjusting it to make sure it stayed put.
“Agh.”
And while I was at it, I calmed my rebellious inner energy as much as possible, focusing it on my facial contours to activate Face-Changing Technique.
And then.
“Intruder! Halt!”
Another Plum Blossom disciple couldn't hold back and appeared.
“Alone?”
“One Plum Blossom Sword is enough to punish evil!”
“Hoo, no choice then. Long live Nangong!”
What the hell had he been doing since dawn? Another clash with the pursuing Plum Blossom disciple, clang clash clang.
“No way, real Heaven-Soaring Carefree Sword Art...!”
“What, you think it's fake?”
Of course it's real.
Acquired it while beating up Nangong Sang in advanced sparring.
Luckily, my opponent was just an overzealous young swordsman.
He knelt before this Nangong Sihyeon's righteous blade after just a few exchanges.
“For the Azure Heaven Society!”
“Gurk—”
I bashed the nape of his neck with the flat of my blade, leaving him groggy.
Then, dragging my right foot again, I moved onward.
Somehow I'd lost my smartphone along the way.
Couldn't even call for help.
Heading back to Xi'an like this would only cause more trouble for Geumhyeon Gate or Ten Thousand Gold Treasury Fortress.
Hundred Flowers Academy had its own extraterritorial status, so holing up there might let me survive somehow.
...But that wouldn't change anything.
Not Profound Realm, but Flower Realm.
At the very least, until I reached a stage where I could manifest my own mind-image, it felt like I wouldn't last the year. The grim premonition weighed down like a stone.
As that rational, oppressively heavy sensation dragged at my already sluggish steps like shackles.
“Geum Sihyeon—!”
A hallucination I shouldn't have heard rang out.
With my body in no state for Soul Link Art, let alone lightweight kung fu, it couldn't be Luri talking in my mind.
What were all those versions of me—scholar Geum Sihyeon, hero Geum Sihyeon, Big Bread Geum Sihyeon, Big Sis Lover Geum Sihyeon—doing?
Can't even beat a Bread Farm...
“Geum Sihyeon!”
The hallucination even choked back sobs.
A warm softness pressed against my back like an illusion.
Smooth, flat, and squishy.
I turned my head.
“Luri?”
Luri's tear-streaked, snotty face came into view.
“Arrr...!”
And soon, the wolf-dog landed nearby, body tense, baring teeth to guard our surroundings.
A cozy warmth filled my chest.
In this thorny path where every step spelled danger, I felt a single path open up.
“For now, let's go.”
“Where to?”
“Xi'an, or near it. And... can I borrow your smartphone for a bit?”
“Yeah.”
After mounting the wolf-dog, I took the smartphone Luri offered, clinging to me like a cicada.
“Password?”
“Geum Sihyeon.”
“...?”
Tok, tok.
It really was.
What's this girl on?
Ever since Luri social-engineered a hack on me last time, I'd changed mine to BreadFarmChicken out of trauma.
Eum.
Maybe change it to FarmBreadChicken.
As I listened to the wolf-dog's near-silent padding—massive body belying its stealth—I scrolled through contacts.
I wanted to reach out to everyone around me personally, but who knew what ripples that would cause.
Just the two likely in Luri's contacts.
How'd she know?
...Summon Ritual 2 complete. Heavenly Demon Summon.
Come to think of it.
How was my name saved in her phone?
Curiosity piqued, I checked.
Whoosh!
“...”
“Hmph.”
Startled, Luri snatched—no, reclaimed—the smartphone.
Unable to meet my eyes, she just fidgeted restlessly in my arms.
Eum...
Never thought she'd name it that.
No wonder she's embarrassed.
* * *
Near Xi'an.
“Squeak...! Geum Sihyeon, your body's all torn up!”
“My, Geum merchant. Did the wind seduce you or something?”
I rendezvoused with Daram—the sturdiest bet among the reliable ones, excluding Chicken Breast Lady—and Cheon Yuri, who could reliably clear my path.
First, I summed up my situation as simply and understandably as possible.
“...I wouldn't want you taking unnecessary risks, so claiming you've attained enlightenment and gone into secluded training should work.”
“Squeak... Is that really okay...?”
“Academy rules allow maintaining enrollment during leave for secluded training. Prove a realm increase, and you can graduate normally.”
“Squeak...”
She wove a clear external narrative for my seclusion.
I worried a bit that Narangi, suddenly saddled with student council duties, might resent me, but she'd handle it fine.
I just hoped she wouldn't worry herself sick.
Tell Narangi, and while submitting my leave form by proxy, it'd naturally reach Seol noona and Chicken Breast Lady's ears.
...I couldn't contact those two directly.
They were too tied to the righteous martial world.
Explaining my situation straight would...
Probably make both of them.
Abandon the righteous faction for me.
Seemed a bit self-indulgent.
But at least for now, they couldn't.
Because.
“Geum merchant. Finally looking my way, are you?”
“...Feels like I have no other choice right now.”
“Seems that way.”
I was finally.
Going to properly learn the Heavenly Demon Divine Art.
“Tell me everything in detail: what else I need to know about the Heavenly Demon Divine Art, where the Heavenly Demon Cave is, and why you left Heavenly Mountain. I want it all.”