Chapter 53
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 53
I certainly show proper respect to my seniors, but it really gets on my nerves when I don't get any in return.
Ise realized that, without even noticing, he had fully adapted to the strict hierarchy of the cultivation world.
If he had to listen to one more word from them, he felt like he would end up forcibly beating some manners into them while screaming, "You worm-like 5-Star Qi Refining bastards!"
Of course, there was a reason they behaved so brazenly. A reason why they treated him as a senior on the surface, yet showed zero genuine respect.
They had backing.
Parents, relatives, siblings—they were all established cultivators with deep roots in the sect. That gave these juniors the arrogant confidence that no one would dare lay a finger on them.
If he was going to deal with guys like that, he had to crush them so brutally they would never dare step out of line again.
Punishing bullies was routine for Ise. Those who attacked him were driven to the absolute terror of death, and those who tried to kill him had their throats ripped out. This wasn't just some idle resolve; it was how he lived.
His only exception had been the single act of leniency he showed the Dogwi boy ghosts at the Ghost-Guarding Temple. And that was only because their teasing was cute in comparison, and because he owed a debt of gratitude to Mongryeon.
A subtle shift occurred in Ise's aura.
The pure-blood cultivators seemed to instinctively sense the change.
"...Well then, we shall take our leave."
Ju Gu-yeon offered a casual greeting, pretending nothing was wrong, and slowly turned his back. The other pure-blood cultivators hurriedly followed his lead, eager to leave the scene.
"Sigh... They took all the spirit stones I managed to save, too," Bu Chun muttered. "I was going to use those to buy books on spirit food."
"Hold on. They stole your spirit stones?"
"Yes. Under the guise of a 'settlement fee'..."
Look at these shameless thieves, worse than demon ghosts.
Snatching someone else's spirit stones was a capital sin deserving of death. Moreover, part of the spirit stones Bu Chun possessed had been given to him by Ise. It was no exaggeration to say that his own wealth had just been stolen.
Ise immediately reached into his storage pouch, pulled his hand back out, and called after the departing cultivators.
"Wait a second. Come over here."
His voice stopped them in their tracks.
Ju Gu-yeon came to an abrupt halt. After hesitating for a moment, he turned his head awkwardly.
"...What is it, Senior?"
"I said, come here."
"..."
"Or should I go over to you instead?"
At those words, Ju Gu-yeon reluctantly approached alone, while the rest of his group stayed back.
As Ju Gu-yeon stepped closer, Ise raised a hand. He casually brushed off Ju Gu-yeon's shoulder and forearm a couple of times, as if tidying up the junior's attire.
"...?"
"Keep yourself looking neat. You're a cultivator, aren't you?"
"...Tsk. Stop picking at trivial things."
Ju Gu-yeon frowned and pulled away. He then led his group and quickly hurried off.
Bu Chun, who had been watching blankly from the sidelines, spoke up cautiously.
"Senior... what kind of powder did you just brush onto him?"
"Nothing much. Just a lesson in manners."
Without further explanation, Ise slipped his hand back into his Daoist robe. He then directed a gentle scolding at Bu Chun.
"By the way, keep a low profile. This is the Cultivation World. Is there any need to get so worked up and rush at them?"
"It's not like I rushed at them. I just... made a legitimate protest that their words were too harsh. Was that any reason to extort my resources?"
"Were you always this hot-tempered?"
"...Not really. I'm sorry, Senior. I lost my cool."
Ise let out a dry chuckle. The memory of Bu Chun nervously yielding the cultivation manual back at the Scripture Hall on their first day faintly overlapped with his current, indignant face. His impression of the guy had certainly changed quite a bit.
"Where are your quarters?"
"I'm on the Third Floor of the Geojin 9th Pavilion."
"I'm at 1st Cheongyu Pavilion. Right up ahead."
"Whoa, as expected of the sect's rising star! You were assigned a great place."
"Are there good and bad places even in here?"
"Hehe, you'll see once you go inside. The Geojin Pavilion side is barely any different from the training center dorms."
Bu Chun hesitated for a moment before continuing, as if finally making up his mind.
"...I've decided to become an official rather than a mission runner."
"Hmm, sounds like a decent choice."
"Yes. I plan to learn business properly. I've watched and learned from you, Senior. I want to learn how to manage a shop, as well as handle spirit food ingredients and cooking recipes."
A glint of surprise appeared in Ise's eyes. Bu Chun's words pointed to one very specific thing.
"Of course, since my spirit stones were stolen, I'll have to go on missions for a while..."
Bu Chun swallowed hard, his expression turning entirely serious.
"Senior... if you allow it, I want to become your right-hand man. Formally. That way, I can handle the logistics while you focus on cultivation and ghost exorcism work. And through the byproducts of your hunts, I can fund my own immortal cultivation."
It was a straightforward and honest proposal.
Truth be told, it wouldn't be easy for someone with Bu Chun's mediocre talent to survive as a mission runner. It wasn't just a matter of his Spirit Root talent; his very nature simply didn't suit being a ghost hunter. Knowing that fact all too well, Bu Chun was proactively seeking out a way to make himself useful instead.
Besides, Bu Chun was well-connected and quick on his feet. Recalling how the junior had swept through and sold off meal tickets in a flash during their previous trade, he was at least one step ahead of Ise when it came to worldly wisdom and business calculations.
One could not do everything alone.
Ise was gradually coming to realize this as well. Seeing those delicate greenhouse flowers reaching the 5-Star Qi Refining Stage purely through outside support—without ever embarking on a single ghost exorcism mission—only solidified his conviction.
I need influence and human resources too.
"Alright."
"Really? You mean it?!"
"In return, keep up with your cultivation diligently. A cultivator's life is unpredictable—you never know when a fated opportunity might come along."
"Understood, Senior! I'll definitely prove my worth to you!"
Bu Chun pumped his fists in excitement. He looked entirely resolute, and Ise watched him with quiet satisfaction.
"Then follow me for a bit. We have something important to take care of today."
Despite Ise's naturally commanding tone, Bu Chun followed without a single word of complaint.
West side of 1st Cheongyu Pavilion, Ise's room. He pushed open the heavy iron door.
"...All of this is my room?"
"Whoa! As expected of Cheongyu Pavilion... It's way, way better than the rumors! If Cheongyu Pavilion is already like this, I wonder how amazing the quarters for Foundation Establishment Stage cultivators are..."
Cheongyu Pavilion was a complex of buildings structured like neatly sliced, tile-roofed houses crammed tightly together, vaguely resembling a honeycomb at first glance.
A soft exclamation escaped Ise's lips as he stepped through the door.
It wasn't just a single room. There was a separate sleeping quarter, an auxiliary space, and another small room right next to it.
At this rate, I could just set up a spirit food preparation room right inside my living quarters.
A happy calculator rapidly clicked away in Ise's mind.
In the training center, he had no choice but to settle for a place just big enough to lie down. But with a layout like this, dedicating one entire room as a workshop was perfectly feasible.
Outside the window, the serene scenery of Cheongyu Park unfolded. Bare branches fluttered in the wind, and beyond them lay a pavilion overlooking a pond covered in thin ice.
In addition to the three main rooms, a separate area was set up for washing up. It came with a rather strange set of instructions:
[Fill the water bucket at the inlet using Flow-Dividing Art. Inject an ember into the heating burner on the right using Fire Release Art to produce hot water. Semi-automatic mechanism.]
Ise found the phrasing unfamiliar yet amusing. Semi-automatic? Is it something like a spinning wheel?
After filling the basin with water and adding an ember as instructed, a strange humming sound reverberated through the room. When he placed his hand near a rounded, hemispherical jade, lo and behold, warm water began to pour out.
The Great Martial Dao is... incredible.
Honestly, it felt like a tremendously mysterious waste of resources. Rather than selling cleansing spells for spirit stones like misers, the sect could have just handed them out for free.
In the largest room, a safe was installed into the wall. But since he had a storage pouch, there was no real use for it. Instead of stashing valuables, he decided to use it to neatly stack the cold spirit stones and spirit food ingredients he had originally intended to keep at the butcher shop.
Having finished tidying up his belongings, Ise lightly dusted off his hands.
Time to go educate those brats for the sake of the Great Martial Dao.
After drinking the Scent-Tracking Water, Ise gestured for Bu Chun to follow him. Originally, he had intended to go alone... but it would probably be better for Bu Chun to get a sense of the true nature hidden beneath his senior's friendly exterior.
* * *
The scent led straight toward the training district.
For all their arrogant bluster, the pure-blood disciples actually had their heads screwed on straight, having come directly here to train.
The district was located at the northeastern edge of the main mountain. Dozens of sparring arenas, both large and small, were scattered about. Tall arbor trees were densely planted between them to block the line of sight, serving as a natural mechanism to guarantee privacy during training.
"I heard that only cultivators with reservations can use this place?" Bu Chun whispered.
"Yeah. I know," Ise replied calmly.
Ise soon arrived near the sparring arena where Ju Gu-yeon's group had begun their training. The commotion of combat echoed from inside.
Walking up to the entrance, Ise channeled his spiritual energy and thrust the Twin Sickle Spirit Domain Uprising flag straight into the ground.
Instantly, the barrier rapidly expanded its domain.
Compared to when he had first handled the ghost treasure, its range had expanded remarkably. The barrier swallowed the entire sparring arena—and every cultivator inside it—whole.
"Guard this so it doesn't get pulled out."
Leaving those words behind, Ise walked inside.
Meanwhile, Ju Gu-yeon and his pure-blood martial brothers were in the middle of live-blade training at the center of the arena.
The only thing I lack is actual combat experience.
With grim determination, Ju Gu-yeon exchanged merciless strikes with his brothers. His pride was deeply wounded. Just a moment ago, he had felt a momentary surge of pressure and fear in front of that lowly disciple from the training center.
The difference in their cultivation realms was merely one single step. He had certainly never felt intimidated like that when facing other 6-Star Qi Refining disciples. Since they were within the same major realm anyway, he believed it was a gap he could bridge with just a little effort.
In the end, what he lacked was real combat experience.
The only reason that bastard could emit such a terrifying aura was undoubtedly because he had experienced actual life-or-death battles. Ju Gu-yeon, on the other hand, had never experienced raw, unadulterated combat. He genuinely believed that was his sole weakness.
"More! Swing with real intent!"
"Senior Martial Brother, someone will get hurt!"
"I don't care if I get hurt! Come at me!"
The live-blade sparring among the pure-blood cultivators was quite fierce. Blades imbued with spiritual energy clashed viciously in midair.
Then, suddenly, the spiritual energy contained in their weapons dispersed into nothingness.
Before they could even recover from their shock at the bizarre phenomenon, a familiar voice drifted over.
"...Look at you playing around. What is this, dance practice?"
At the unexpected voice, the movements of over a dozen people froze at once.
Near the entrance of the sparring arena, Ise walked out slowly from the shade of the trees, rolling his shoulders to loosen up.
Ju Gu-yeon's brow furrowed tightly.
"What do you think you're doing, Senior?" Ju Gu-yeon snapped. "We rented this sparring arena through legitimate procedures. Even if you are a senior, you cannot enter without permission. Do you look down on the rules of the Great Martial Dao?"
"Of course not. I just didn't know."
"If you know now, then leave at on—"
"But it's fine."
Ise lightly cracked his wrists. Then he rolled his neck a couple of times to stretch.
"Because I'm about to get your permission right now."
The moment he finished speaking, Ise's form vanished.
In the next instant, a yellow-glowing shield hurtled directly into Ju Gu-yeon's field of vision.
Ju Gu-yeon instinctively tried to channel his spiritual energy. However, the qi in his meridians stood completely still. Like a stagnant puddle of water, it refused to budge an inch.
...What in the world is this?
Simultaneous with his realization, the shield slammed mercilessly into his face.
Ju Gu-yeon's body flew across to the far end of the sparring arena like an arrow loosed from a bowstring.
"Eldest Senior Brother!"
"You tyrannical brute!"
"What is the meaning of this outrage?!"
The pure-blood cultivators looked utterly dumbfounded by the sudden, merciless violence inflicted without warning.
"Honestly, I was going to let it slide," Ise said, walking toward the nearest cultivator. "But if I let it slide, it feels like you lot will end up dying in a ditch somewhere soon. So as your senior, I have no choice but to impart an important lesson."
When you encounter a senior of a higher realm, watch your manners.
'Please save my life, Senior.'
He was going to teach them exactly how important those words were.
"We're fighting without our cultivation realms attached. Fairly. Purely hand-to-hand combat."
The pure-blood cultivators scrambled to channel their spiritual energy, but no one's qi responded.
They didn't know what he had done, but judging by his tone, he meant to seal off their spiritual energy and fight using raw physical strength alone. If so, what did the difference in cultivation realms matter? They numbered over ten people. If anything, wasn't the advantage on their side?
The pure-blood cultivators exchanged brief glances.
"You can swarm me all at once," Ise offered. "Come at me with everything you've got. Even if I lose, I swear on my biological parents' names and honor that I won't hold it against you."
Ise's brief permission was granted. As if they had been waiting for those exact words, the cultivators rushed at him like famished beasts.