Chapter 20
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 20
Act 4. Bamboo Tube Beauty.
Even before the dawn bell rang, Ise snapped his eyes open.
His body woke on sheer instinct—a habit ingrained since early childhood. Before the temptation to sleep could even cross his mind, he threw off the blanket and planted his feet on the floor.
Today, however, he woke with a fierce, eager energy.
At last. Finally, he could cultivate.
It was the moment he had been waiting for.
Outside his private quarters, the world was already stirring. Footsteps hurrying down the hallway, the splash of drawn water, a stifled yawn—his keen Dokkaebi Sense caught it all.
Ise quickly tidied his room, stepped outside, and headed straight up Mount Cheongsan. His heart fluttered with anticipation; his first day at the Great Martial Dao had officially begun.
Thanks to yesterday’s initiation ceremony, he already had a firm grasp of the daily routine. The life of a first-year initiate disciple at the Great Martial Dao was straightforward.
First, they would visit the Scripture Hall—which housed the secret manuals permitted to initiates—to independently acquire the knowledge necessary for cultivation. Afterward, they would cultivate in the various training grounds scattered across Mount Cheongsan or in private training rooms.
If their cultivation hit a bottleneck, they could seek guidance from their assigned cultivator. They were also expected to periodically check the mission board and accept individual assignments through the Training Center Manager.
Most of these were simple, close-range tasks around Mount Cheongsan meant to build experience. Still, the rewards—Contribution Points and Spirit Stones—were enough to make any initiate disciple salivate.
Naturally, the Training Center Manager had warned them that danger lurked behind even the easiest tasks. He had urged them to focus on their cultivation rather than recklessly accepting missions before their formal assignments began.
Leaving the lodgings, Ise spotted several other initiate disciples heading in the same direction.
It was their very first morning in the Great Martial Dao. Though the sun had yet to crest the mountain ridge, the air around Mount Cheongsan buzzed with a strange, electric excitement.
No one spoke, but they were all marching toward a single destination. Their minds were entirely in sync.
Soon, Ise arrived at the highest peak of Mount Cheongsan. Here, the Training Center Management Office and the Scripture Hall stood upon a site said to gather the purest spiritual energy in the region.
A long, winding line of initiate disciples already stretched out in front of the building.
Ise knitted his brows in dismay. He thought he had set off early—the moment he opened his eyes—but quite a few people had been even faster. His habit of strictly adhering to his morning routine had actually held him back.
"You're late?"
Right at the very front of the line, Seol Ryeong leaned out to look at him, her hair a disheveled mess.
Cutting the line... would be a bad idea, right?
Ise reluctantly took his place at the back and called out to her. "How long have you been standing there?"
"Since last night? My heart was pounding so hard I couldn’t sleep," Seol Ryeong answered, stifling a long yawn.
Around the middle of the line stood Pi Ga-ram. Ise gave him a subtle nod of greeting. Hae Un-chan, however, was nowhere to be seen. Given his legendary appetite, he had undoubtedly gone to eat first.
When the hour finally came for the Scripture Hall to open, the management cultivator stepped outside and efficiently guided everyone in, one by one.
After filling out the entry log, they received their instructions.
"No secret manuals may be taken outside or copied. Only one book may be read at a time."
Simple rules.
When his turn came and Ise stepped inside, he swallowed hard. Floor-to-ceiling shelves covered the walls, crammed with innumerable texts.
Basic cultivation manuals, secret spell books, elemental dharma spells, alchemy records, puppet crafting arts, mechanical dharma formations...
"Are all of these... for the Qi Refining Stage?"
"Yeah. For initiates."
"If this is just for initiates, what on earth is on the higher floors...?"
Just as the disciples murmured, it truly seemed as though the foundational texts for every spell in existence were gathered here. Even the cultivation manuals—the very foundation for raising a cultivator’s realm—were so numerous they packed an entire section.
However, there were only four actual types of cultivation manuals available: the Nang Pavilion Volume, the Shaman Volume, the Medical Apprentice Volume, and the Dark Snake Volume.
Multiple copies of each manual had been placed side by side so several people could read them at once. Even so, it wasn’t quite enough for every disciple to read simultaneously—though after today, a shortage of books would likely cease to be an issue.
The problem was that Ise wanted to read a cultivation manual right now.
In the end, he stood directly behind a disciple who had entered first and was currently holding a manual, waiting for his turn. He felt a bit guilty for peeking over the guy's shoulder, but his curiosity got the better of him. Rather than disturbing the reader, Ise silently scanned the manual's contents alongside him.
"...?"
"Don’t mind me. Keep reading."
The disciple subjected to Ise’s bizarre behavior—Bu Chun—was utterly appalled.
Why did it have to be me...?!
Sensing Bu Chun glancing back anxiously, Ise reassured him once more.
"Seriously, don’t mind me."
How could I not?!
"Take your time, read comfortably, and just hand it to me when you’re done."
That’s terrifying!
The guy standing behind him like a looming shadow was none other than the overall top scorer of this year's entrance exam. He was the madman cultivator who had defeated even Hae Un-chan—whose victory was practically guaranteed thanks to his Heavenly Root Body. The same madman who had decapitated Mokgwang during the exam, severing his head and hoisting it high into the sky like a prized trophy.
Bu Chun wanted absolutely nothing to do with him, but he certainly didn't want to get on his bad side and make an enemy out of him either.
What if Ise held a grudge because he took too long reading? Should he just hand it over and read it slowly later? Waiting in line had been a waste of time, sure, but his life was far more valuable than a few lost minutes!
Ultimately, Bu Chun decided to compromise with reality.
"Do you want to read it first...?"
"What? Really? I’m fine, though."
His face was not that of someone who was fine. It was the face of a demon silently demanding he hand it over right now and get lost.
"I-I’m also interested in swordsmanship, so I can just read a sword manual first..."
"Thank you. I’ll remember this."
Please, just forget it!
Bu Chun scampered away from Ise as if fleeing for his life. Deeply touched by how kind-hearted his fellow disciple was, Ise opened the book.
Ghost-Banishing Spirit-Purging Qi Refining Art – Nang Pavilion Volume
The bedrock of the Great Martial Dao. A foundational cultivation manual centered on physical conditioning. On the very first page, the core principles of the Ghost-Banishing Spirit-Purging Qi Refining Art were written.
- Train the physical body.
- Hunt demon ghosts, purify the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, and accumulate it within the trained body.
- Combine the accumulated spiritual energy with enlightenment to advance to the next realm.
The Qi Refining Stage was a preparatory phase for novice cultivators, allowing them to acclimate to controlling spiritual energy before stepping into the realm of true superhumans.
1-Star to 4-Star: Early Stage. The phase of sensing and manipulating spiritual energy.
5-Star to 7-Star: Mid Stage. The phase of imparting elemental attributes to spiritual energy to cast dharma spells.
8-Star to 9-Star: Late Stage. The phase of transforming the flesh and internal organs one by one.
10-Star: Great Completion (The official term is Great Perfection, but because combining 'Qi Refining Stage' with 'Great Perfection' sounds ridiculously petty, it is usually referred to as Great Completion). The stage of ultimate completion before Foundation Establishment, fully purging turbid qi from the body and restructuring the physical form.
Through this process, upon finally ascending to the Foundation Establishment Stage, spiritual energy would no longer merely flow through the meridians like narrow channels. Instead, it would be contained within a vast vessel known as the Dharma Flower Dantian, allowing the cultivator to accumulate purer and far greater quantities of spiritual energy.
Furthermore, through the process of shedding the mortal body and exchanging one's bones, aging would drastically slow, and the physical form would become immune to ordinary blades and poisons.
Hold on.
Scanning further down the text, Ise paused and grimaced as if he had seen something truly appalling.
[From the Late Stage onward, abstain from mortal food to avoid directly accumulating turbid qi within the body.]
The note elicited an involuntary groan from deep within his chest. Is this what it feels like when one's entire world collapses?
Nevertheless, Ise steeled his unbroken heart and begrudgingly turned the page. The manual contained line after line of essential inner mnemonics for each realm, accompanied by explanatory notes to aid in enlightenment.
1-Star Qi Refining is Meridian Awakening. Becoming aware of the spirit veins and perceiving spiritual energy to feel its flow.
2-Star is Spirit Motion. Controlling and guiding the spiritual energy flowing through the spirit veins by one's own will.
3-Star is Spirit Drawing. Drawing out spiritual energy—releasing the spiritual energy flowing within the body to imbue it into dharma artifacts, coat weapons, or project it outward.
In short, the next step Ise had to take was drawing spiritual energy out of his body.
After memorizing as much of the manual's contents as he could, Ise closed the book and stood up for the next person in line. He couldn't memorize everything in one go anyway, and all he needed for now were the mnemonics and commentary for the next realm.
It seemed he would be spending a lot of time coming in and out of the Scripture Hall for the foreseeable future. Provided he had enough time, he intended to master as many technique manuals as possible, not just cultivation arts.
In particular, Ise was deeply interested in Spirit Food recipes—culinary skills used to prepare dishes that wouldn't impart turbid qi upon consumption, and might even actively aid in cultivation. He had genuinely been stressing over whether he would have to abandon his love of fine food, which was his sole hobby in this world. This was an art uniquely suited for him.
"What are you looking at?" Hae Un-chan, who had just arrived late, glanced at the new manual Ise had pulled out while handing over the cultivation manual.
"...You really are something else."
"I don't particularly care to hear that from someone who was late because he was stuffing his face."
Hae Un-chan was struck speechless.
The contents of the Spirit Food recipes were even more fascinating than the cultivation manual. There were various recipes utilizing the carcasses of spirit creatures and spirit beasts (he wasn't entirely sure if the latter was ethical) to maximize spiritual energy absorption.
Moreover, Spirit Food was rare and highly lucrative. It wasn't that he was greedy for wealth, but if he could eat deliciously while simultaneously aiding his cultivation, it was killing two birds with one stone.
"Is there a next volume by any chance?" Ise asked the Scripture Hall manager after quickly reading through the text.
"What we have here are only introductory manuals for trial. True secret manuals can only be viewed once you reach the main mountain."
"Ah..."
"Of course, just because you want to see them doesn't mean you can. To obtain our sect's secret manuals, you must pay Contribution Points. So, if there's a manual you're interested in, you should carry out missions early to build them up."
"Understood. Thank you."
His reply was obedient, but inwardly, he felt dissatisfied. If they belonged to the same sect, shouldn't they freely share their secret manuals? It wasn't like reading a book wore it out.
Naturally, he understood the logic. It was a form of motivation to encourage disciples to undertake dangerous missions. But for Ise—a man already driven to hunt down and slaughter every single demon ghost without needing to be forced—it was a completely unnecessary restriction.
Let's focus on cultivation first.
As soon as Ise left the Scripture Hall, he headed straight for a private training room. It was pin-drop quiet inside. Once the barrier closed, all outside energy was completely blocked off.
Ise sat cross-legged on the floor.
"Qi exits the body and lingers, release spirit outside, non-dissipating."
Reciting the mnemonic, he closed his eyes. Instantly, a familiar sensation surged up.
Spiritual energy, and demonic energy.
Two opposing currents, growling as they pushed against each other within his body. Whenever the spiritual energy tried to move, the demonic energy pushed back from the opposite side. The two forces violently collided, constantly churning as if trying to swallow each other whole.
A bitter taste filled his mouth, and nausea roiled in his stomach. Feeling as though his innards were being turned upside down, Ise gritted his teeth.
Draw spiritual energy out of the body and make it remain in that state.
Ise caught his breath and forcefully pushed his spiritual energy toward his fingertips.
Nothing happened.
He tried again, harder this time. He failed again.
How many times did he repeat this process? He gathered whatever energy he could grasp—whether spiritual or demonic—and repeatedly tried to push it out.
Then, at a certain moment, a sharp prickle tingled at his fingertips, and the air wavered faintly. It was extremely subtle, but unmistakable—the distinct sensation of energy leaving his body.
A faint smile touched the corners of Ise's lips.
This is easier than I thought?
However, there was one glaring problem.
It feels like the absolute amount of energy is lacking.
The core principle of the Qi Refining Stage was to accumulate first, then achieve enlightenment. In other words, to break through to the next realm, a certain threshold of energy had to be stored within the body. Crossing the barrier to 3-Star using only the spiritual energy gained from Medicinal Pills was unlikely to be easy.
To accumulate spiritual energy...
There were three ways.
First, absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth at a glacial pace through meditation here. It was the orthodox method, but he had no desire to cultivate so leisurely.
Second, procuring Spirit Pills and absorbing them. Impossible—he lacked the resources. Spirit Pills were not only incredibly difficult to obtain, but their market prices were skyrocketing through the roof.
Furthermore, the Ghost-Banishing Spirit-Purging Qi Refining Art had a unique, deadly quirk: the more one relied on Spirit Pills to raise their realm, the more pill toxin accumulated in their body. This would drastically increase the intensity of their Heavenly Tribulations in higher realms.
Of course, he had heard that this didn't apply to his specific constitution, but caution never hurt.
Doing this inside the Great Martial Dao will be tough. I need to hunt more demon ghosts.
This was likely why initiate disciples risked life and limb to head out into the mortal world, even for informal missions.
It was the moment he reached yet another profound realization.