The Cloud-Riding Genius of Biun Sect
New Spring Exchange Meeting? The Baek-yeon-ju slowly descended in altitude. As they drew closer, the Unsan mountains felt less like a range and more like an entire world of their own. The pavilions lined along the mountain slopes gradually revealed their outlines, and even the size of a single roof tile was incomparable to anything seen at the main family estate. Clouds rising from various spots along the mountainside drifted to cover and reveal the pavilions, creating a scene straight out of a painting. The destination for the Baek-yeon-ju was Biseondae, located at the very edge of the mountain base.
The formation scripts engraved at the edge of the courtyard slowly rotated, drawing a shape that seemed to embrace the entire flat ground. The vessel landed softly, without a single tremor. As the formation master withdrew his hand seal, the barrier on the deck gently dissolved. The air blowing in from outside was mixed with a refreshing clarity that could not be found in the family’s own territory. At one end of Biseondae, Baek Gyu and the inner sect elder Pung Jin-hae were waiting to receive them. Baek Gyu’s energy felt significantly deeper than before, and Pung Jin-hae stood with an even more immortal-like demeanor than he had during the Golden Core banquet.
Baek Mu-yeong stepped off the deck and respectfully clasped his hands together. "For you to come and welcome us in person—the favor shown to the Yeonha Baek Clan is not small."
Pung Jin-hae shook his head as if it were nothing and returned the gesture. "A clan that has decided to forge a ten-thousand-year bond has come to visit our main mountain. Since the Sect Leader personally instructed it, it would not have been proper for anyone other than this old man to step forward."
This time, Baek Gyu stepped forward and bowed his head slightly. "Uncle, have you been well?"
"Yes, have you been doing well?"
Baek Cheong also straightened her robes and offered a formal greeting to the inner sect elder. "I offer you my humble respects."
Pung Jin-hae gave a light nod. "We have brought a fair amount of sincerity from our clan. Where would you like us to move it?"
Baek Mu-yeong’s words followed naturally. His tone was polite, but he accompanied it with a subtle glance toward the deck. It was a gesture meant to convey, 'Please take good care of what is inside.' It would have been filled with spirit herbs and medicinal pills in the storage pouch, along with several jade bottles filled with Danmun Chwiryeongdan. As it was the first greeting since the proclamation of their Millennia Foundation Plan, it contained a generous amount of sincerity befitting the clan’s status.
Pung Jin-hae nodded lightly. "Since it is a gift to be presented to the Sect Leader, it is only right that this old man inspects and receives it personally."
"It would be the greatest honor if you would do so."
Pung Jin-hae slowly turned his body. "Clan Head, please follow this way."
"Yes."
Baek Mu-yeong cast a brief glance at Baek Cheong. "Go and look around Biun Sect with your brother for a while."
"Yes, Uncle."
As the backs of the two men receded, the space atop Biseondae became momentarily quiet. "Cheong-ah." A soft voice fell from above. Looking up, her eldest brother was bending one knee slightly to match her eye level. "Have you been well?"
"Yes, Brother."
Baek Cheong happily greeted her eldest brother, whom she hadn't seen in a long time. He asked about things he likely already knew from letters—her mother’s well-being, her father’s breakthrough to Golden Core, and her grandfather’s entry into the late stage of Golden Core. While she was busy answering his questions one by one, Baek Gyu pointed vaguely toward the mountain slopes. "There are many places I want to show you. Would you like to look around Biun Sect for a moment?"
"Yes, please show me around!"
Baek Gyu raised his hand lightly. Spiritual energy swirled around his fingertips, and the air beneath their feet grew heavy. Wisps of clouds gathered one by one. The motion of calling the surrounding clouds with a single gesture flowed naturally. Soon, a neat lump of white cloud slowly descended before the two of them. It was large enough for two adults to stand on together, and its outline remained soft and slightly puffed without dispersing.
"Step up onto this."
'Ride a cloud?' It was her first time seeing a spectacle where one laid a cloud under their feet and stepped onto it. To the naked eye, it looked like nothing more than a clump of cloud. Her toes hesitated for a moment at the sight, fearing her feet might sink right through. "...I won't fall through, right?"
"Haha, don't worry, come on."
Taking a leap of faith, she carefully placed one foot forward. The sensation against her sole was completely different from what she had expected. A fluffy texture supported her foot. When she stepped with her other foot, the cloud gently wrapped around her insteps. 'It really holds me up.' The feeling of a cloud, which she had only ever imagined, was now actually touching her feet. It felt fluffy yet firm—like a cotton quilt that wouldn't let you sink. On top of that, it even balanced itself. Even when she tilted her body slightly, the surface of the cloud naturally tilted along with it to support her feet.
"Wow...!"
A small exclamation escaped her lips before she could stop it. It was a different kind of wonder than when she had first seen Unsan. "Brother, this is really fluffy."
She let out the same exclamation repeatedly without reservation. Baek Gyu wore a satisfied smile as he lightly stepped onto one end of the cloud himself. Even then, the cloud supported the weight of both people without losing its shape. 'If I master this, I could float around anywhere.' The image of riding a cloud the size of a palm and floating over people’s heads flashed through her mind. It was a picture she liked very much. As she pushed the imagination to its limit, she naturally opened her mouth.
"Then, Brother, can all Biun Sect cultivators ride clouds?"
Baek Gyu hesitated for a moment before bursting into a small laugh. "Haha, Cheong-ah. That’s not the case."
"Is it different?"
"This is a type of Cloud-Riding Technique that gathers clouds to create a seat beneath one's feet. It is commonly called Biun Sect’s Cloud-Riding Technique. So, it is separate from other clouds."
"Aha."
Outwardly, she nodded briefly. Inwardly, however, a different thought was slowly emerging. 'It would be great if I could ride the rain clouds I call with the Rain-Calling Technique, too.' Suddenly, a picture formed in her head. Floating over people's heads with a cloud spread beneath her feet, scattering a light drizzle. The faces of people who would be bewildered by the sudden rain naturally came to mind. 'Ah, this is true art.'Baek Cheong let out a short sigh without realizing it. Immediately, her eldest brother’s gaze landed on that sigh.
"Cheong-ah."
"Yes?"
"Do you want to learn the Cloud-Riding Technique?"
Baek Gyu asked affectionately, as if he had read his younger sister’s heart. "If you enter Biun Sect, you can learn the Cloud-Riding Technique as much as you want, but it is truly a pity that you have already entered Heavenly Sword Sect. However, even if you are not a disciple of Biun Sect, if you contribute to Biun Sect, then perhaps..."
'Wait a minute.' To Baek Cheong, this was a bolt from the blue. Contributing to Biun Sect meant she would have to work. 'Absolutely not.'Baek Cheong shook her head inwardly at the situation, which was terrifying just to imagine. Even so, her eldest brother’s affectionate gaze grew even deeper.
"This brother could perhaps put in a word to the Sect Leader..."
"Brother!"
Before he could say any more, she urgently changed the subject. "More than that, please show me around Biun Sect. It’s my first time seeing Unsan and my first time at Biun Sect, so everything is fascinating. It would be such a waste to just stay in one place like this."
She pretended to be as excited as possible and subtly steered the conversation away. Baek Gyu kept his mouth shut for a moment before smiling softly. "Right, I forgot. There are many places to show you."
'Phew.' She exhaled inwardly and briefly smoothed her small chest. As her eldest brother moved his hand lightly, the cloud rose gently. The cloud, which seemed to circle Biseondae once, flowed between the rows of pavilions on the mountain slopes. The Biun Sect pavilions she saw up close had a different atmosphere from those at her family estate. Each pavilion was engraved with formations related to clouds, and the sight of clouds escaping in wisps along the bells at the eaves was strangely orderly. Traces of bluish spiritual veins shimmered faintly throughout the mountain slopes.
'The concentration of spiritual energy must be several times that of our main estate.' There was certainly plenty to see. However, there was one awkward thing. 'I barely see any people.' If this were the main mountain of a great sect, the sight of disciples coming and going should be natural, but the paths between the pavilions were empty, and shadows in the courtyards were sparse. Even the few disciples she passed seemed to be in a hurry.
"Brother, are there usually not many people in Biun Sect?"
"Hmm?" Baek Gyu looked down with a puzzled expression before smiling faintly. "Ah, I see why you’d think that."
"Yes, since it’s the main mountain, I thought it would be full of people."
"It’s because of the timing. The New Spring Exchange Meeting is about to be held."
"The New Spring Exchange Meeting?"
Baek Cheong asked back, her curiosity piqued. Baek Gyu slowed the speed of the cloud and explained slowly.
"Yes, it’s an event the sect holds to welcome the New Year. It’s a place where sect members and outsiders come to visit and exchange."
"Do a lot of people come?"
"Since several exchange events are held at once, any Biun Sect disciple is bound to be busy with one thing or another, which is why the main mountain looks so empty."
"If you say several exchange events..."
"First, there is the Academic Fair. It’s a place where they show off their skills in arts like alchemy, talisman-making, formations, and artifact-crafting."
Baek Cheong listened intently to the story that piqued her interest. "Then there is the Auction."
"The Auction?"
With her ears pricked up slightly more, she waited for his next words. "Treasures brought from other sects, rare items put up by nearby hermits, and goods released from within Biun Sect are all gathered in one place. It’s different from auctions held by merchant associations; there are many items strongly imbued with the sect’s character, so there’s a unique fun in watching them."
'This is worth checking out.' If it were an auction strongly imbued with the sect’s character, there was no telling what kind of opportunities might be rolling around. "And finally, there is the highlight of the New Spring Exchange Meeting."
Baek Gyu continued with a very serious look. "It is called the Martial Contest."
Just hearing the name, she could guess what kind of event it was. "It’s usually a place where disciples of the same level pair up to compete in magical techniques. Those in the Qi Refining stage pair up with each other, and those in the Core Formation stage pair up with each other. It’s not just competing within the sect; it’s common for outside guests to join in, so any peer of the same level can show off their skills to their heart’s content."
"Are you participating too, Brother?"
"Although I am in the Core Formation stage, given my position as a true inherited disciple, I tend not to participate. Rather, it would be good for you to come and see how peers of the same level compete."
"Yes, I definitely want to see it!"
While answering her brother brightly, another thought was spinning rapidly in one corner of her mind. If they were at the same level as her, they were merely in the late stage of Qi Refining. If peers in the Qi Refining stage gathered at Biun Sect’s New Spring Exchange Meeting, there was a high possibility that geniuses with Heavenly Spiritual Roots were mixed in everywhere. If she added peers of the same level sent from other places to that, it would certainly be a sight worth seeing. However, it felt slightly lacking in weight to be called the highlight just for this.
"But is it a place where people would be that busy?"
"The rewards are not small."
'Hmm?' Her gaze was drawn slightly toward Baek Gyu at the words that caught her ear. "Rewards?"
"Yes. The prizes the sect puts up for the top winners of the Martial Contest are not small. From medicinal pills, spirit stones, and jade slips to magical artifacts... The rewards vary by level, so it’s hard to list them all, but every year, the disciples put their heart and soul into the Martial Contest."
If it were just spirit stones or medicinal pills, it wouldn't have been this popular. If it were a prize put up directly by the sect, it was worth looking forward to. 'This is worth getting involved in once, isn't it?' On the cloud flowing quietly, Baek Cheong kept her mouth shut for a moment. It seemed like an opportunity to learn the Cloud-Riding Technique might appear if she played her cards right.
"Brother."
"Yes."
"Can I also earn contribution points at the Martial Contest?"
Baek Gyu looked down at his younger sister with a puzzled expression. Meanwhile, Baek Cheong only looked up at her eldest brother with eyes full of greed—no, full of spirit.