Why Are You All Following Me?
The pavilion was buzzing with chatter about the upcoming Cloud Sea Secret Realm when one of the hesitant young cultivators finally gathered his courage. “U-um, Lady Baek Cheong.” The cautious voice immediately drew every eye in the room. “If it wouldn’t be too presumptuous… would you consider entering the Cloud Sea Secret Realm together with me? Having someone like you as a partner would be incredibly reassuring…”
The young man’s face burned scarlet as his words trailed off. Despite screwing up every ounce of courage he possessed, having the entire room’s attention suddenly fixed on him left him mortified.
Partner? As if.
To Baek Cheong, the suggestion felt downright unpleasant. She had planned to stretch her divine sense through the clouds and casually sweep up every rare treasure she found. Having someone glued to her side would make it impossible to move around freely.
They’d just get in the way.
Of course, she had no intention of voicing her real thoughts. She offered a small, gentle smile and politely declined. “I appreciate the sentiment, but I must decline. I don’t intend to be overly ambitious inside the Cloud Sea Secret Realm.”
“I… I see…”
“I’ll simply look around and pick up anything that catches my eye. I wouldn’t want to tie down your feet, sir.”
Disappointment and admiration mingled on the young cultivator’s face. The fact that she could stand before a secret realm said to house priceless treasures and claim to have no greed spread murmurs of awe among the other juniors.
“As expected, even her mindset is on another level.”
“To possess such talent yet harbor no greed… truly admirable.”
Moreover, Baek Cheong possessed an appearance far beyond her years—skin like white jade and gracefully lowered eyes that made even her claim of having “no greed” seem completely believable.
They’re actually buying it.
Baek Cheong felt rather pleased with the agreeable atmosphere. This way, she could later sweep everything up without interference.
No greed?
Meanwhile, Seo Jua watched with clear skepticism. The same person who had shamelessly unleashed twenty ice dragons across two separate matches just to win could hardly be called unambitious. She was obviously scheming something. Seo Jua wanted to call her out right then and there, but she held her tongue. Without clear evidence, any accusation would simply look like petty jealousy. Better to pretend ignorance than appear pathetic.
She pouted and turned her attention to the jade bottle in her arms, gently polishing it with her sleeve lest even the slightest scratch appear.
Hmph. This lady only needs to look after her own things.
The pride of having obtained a valuable treasure pushed both revenge and suspicion to the back of her mind.
By then, the atmosphere inside the pavilion had completely shifted. The earlier commotion over the Danmun Chwiryungdan was to blame. Everyone had emptied their spirit stones to buy the pills, leaving the young cultivators with nothing worthwhile left to trade. The bargaining that had filled the air gradually died down.
The juniors gathered in small groups, sipping tea and chatting idly. What was supposed to be a trading meet had fizzled into nothing more than a social gathering.
This is boring.
Baek Cheong had zero interest in a gathering where people sipped tea and recited poetry. The real reason she had come to Cheong-unru was something else entirely. With her newly swollen purse of spirit stones, she intended to sweep the upcoming auctions clean.
It was time to leave. She straightened her clothes and quietly rose to her feet.
“I’ll take my leave and look around a bit more. Please enjoy the rest of your time.”
She gave a graceful bow and was about to exit the pavilion when an urgent voice called after her.
“W-wait! This lady was just about to look around as well!”
Seo Jua shot up from her seat as if it were a competition. Her two maids hurriedly followed. Then, seeing their chance, the other young cultivators scrambled to their feet as well.
“Oh, where are you going? Let’s go together!”
“My legs were feeling restless too!”
The juniors, desperate to make a good impression on Baek Cheong, had been waiting for any opening. Now they seized it.
Before she knew it, Baek Cheong and Seo Jua found themselves surrounded by a crowd of young cultivators as they strolled through the auction district.
Wait, why is everyone following us?
Baek Cheong felt bewildered, but she couldn’t exactly shake them off. The teachings drilled into her by her family echoed in her mind: connections should not be carelessly severed. One never knew when or how they might prove useful, so treat everyone with courtesy.
Besides, these were the very customers who had just bought her Danmun Chwiryungdan.
Well, there’s no need to be rude.
Since she didn’t drive them away, the young cultivators eagerly began striking up conversation.
“Lady Baek Cheong, the Danmun Chwiryungdan refined by Elder Yakseon that you showed us earlier—we’ve never even seen anything like it!”
“They say you took first place in the sparring tournament without even drawing your sword. What’s your secret?”
“You’re so young yet so composed. We can only marvel at you!”
To the barrage of questions, Baek Cheong offered only short, modest replies.
“I simply got lucky.”
Even her indifferent tone seemed like humility to their eyes. The more she acted that way, the more excitedly the juniors orbited around her.
The same phenomenon was happening with Seo Jua.
“Lady Seo Jua truly possesses unmatched grace!”
“Were you not the one who faced Lady Baek Cheong head-on in the sparring tournament?”
“Hmph, obviously. This lady is Baek Cheong’s destined rival!”
Seo Jua lifted her chin proudly, as if she had been waiting for the cue. The juniors only redoubled their flattery.
In a quiet annex, a modest auction was underway. However, every item placed on the equally modest auction block was underwhelming. They were all goods offered by Qi Condensation cultivators; even the so-called magic tools barely qualified as mid-grade. The pills were nothing more than common first-rank mid-grade products.
Not even worth glancing at.
While the other juniors kept craning their necks in fascination, to Baek Cheong they looked like nothing but junk. After visiting several auction halls, the situation remained the same. Nothing stirred her interest.
In the end, she decided to leave Cheong-unru behind.
...
Bohwawon had been built by carving an entire peak into a massive marketplace. The farther they walked, the more large and small trading posts appeared. Once they put some distance between themselves and Cheong-unru, different auctions came into view—ones that weren’t limited to Qi Condensation cultivators. While true treasures were still rare, the quality was noticeably better than before.
As Baek Cheong walked, she suddenly stopped before one particular auction stand. Several rare ingredients were neatly displayed. These were materials so precious that one would struggle to see them even by piling spirit stones into a mountain.
Oh, these might actually be useful.
Without hesitation, she called out a bid. But every time she did, Seo Jua immediately jumped in.
“This lady bids double!”
For every material Baek Cheong showed interest in, Seo Jua stubbornly raised the price. It wasn’t exactly sabotage, but Baek Cheong ended up yielding one or two ingredients to her. Of course, if she truly wanted to, she could have crushed her with pure financial power. However, she had no immediate use for them and planned to simply store them away. There was no need to engage in a pointless staring contest with Seo Jua.
If she wants them that badly, she can have one or two.
Baek Cheong simply shrugged and let it go. Still, the constant interference was starting to get on her nerves.
Alright then.
A mischievous idea formed. She began thinking of ways to make Seo Jua suffer a little. Just then, her eyes landed on a certain auction stand. A single unidentified object sat there. It was a dull, murky thing whose material seemed to be neither stone nor metal. Its purpose was impossible to guess. Even the seller admitted they didn’t know where it had come from and had put it up for a cheap price.
Baek Cheong deliberately pointed at it and called out an absurd bid.
“I’ll take this for five mid-grade spirit stones.”
A murmur ran through the crowd. Paying such a price for what looked like worthless junk? She glanced sideways.
Go on, try to outbid me this time.
But for once, Seo Jua didn’t follow. She gave the object a quick glance, looked slightly puzzled, then turned her head away. It seemed she hadn’t actually been trying to interfere. The materials she had bid on earlier had simply overlapped with ones Seo Jua wanted by coincidence.
Thanks to that, the mysterious object became hers without competition.
Huh…?
She had tried to play a prank, but ended up saddling herself with an expensive piece of junk.
This isn’t what I planned.
Baek Cheong stared down at the object in her hand with a sour expression. As she absentmindedly fiddled with it, the texture felt strangely familiar against her fingertips. She was certain she had encountered this material somewhere before.
Where have I seen this…?
Try as she might, she couldn’t recall when or where. Yet the sense of familiarity kept tickling the back of her mind. She turned the object over and over, chasing the faint memory.
Just as she was lost in thought, a commotion arose nearby. A conversation that made her ears perk up drifted over.
“The Cloud Sea Map? You’re saying a map of the Cloud Sea Secret Realm has been put up for auction?”
“That’s right! I heard one of the auction houses brought out an Unhaedo!”
Inside the Cloud Sea, the five senses were useless. One could only rely on divine sense. A map that charted the interior of those clouds was an incredible advantage. The vague sense of déjà vu was instantly wiped from Baek Cheong’s mind.
The Cloud Sea Map? It’s really up for auction?
With her already monstrous divine sense, the Cloud Sea Secret Realm was practically her own playground. If she went in with a perfect map of the paths, she would hold an overwhelming advantage.
That’s basically free real estate.
Baek Cheong casually tossed the mysterious object into her storage pouch. Then she quickly headed toward the auction house that was offering the Cloud Sea Map. Having heard the same news, Seo Jua and the pack of young cultivators hurriedly followed after her.