The Dragon Heart's Refinement
Since Brenar had decided to personally lead the exploration team and accompany Han Yujin, there was no chance of any petty complaints arising. Territorial disputes were equally impossible.
Her position within the Ebenrak family was second only to the family head himself. As a spiritualist of the same level as the patriarch and having provided both tangible and intangible benefits to the military as a space force lieutenant colonel, her influence was immense.
In short, she held absolute authority over the exploration team and could wield it without issue.
Brenar, for her part, treated Han Yujin as an exceptionally valuable talent.
Not only had she refinanced the maximum loan he had taken from the bank under the Ebenrak family’s name, but she had also provided an 8-level elixir as an advance payment before he had even begun any official work.
She had even gifted him a nectar called Aion Extract, of which the Ebenrak family produced extremely limited quantities. It was said that when it matched one’s constitution perfectly, its effects rivaled a 9-level elixir.
‘No matter how I look at it, this feels a bit too personal, doesn’t it…?’
Although Han Yujin was a 7-level spiritualist who followed the orthodox training methods of the repair system and possessed extensive experience, such treatment from the very beginning felt slightly excessive.
There were undoubtedly similar opinions circulating within the Ebenrak family. The only reason they remained unspoken was because Brenar stood firmly behind him.
‘If I make even a single mistake during the expedition, there will be a backlash.’
With this much trust placed in him, he had no choice but to take things seriously.
Thus, even though he had already planned to do so, he devoted himself wholeheartedly to training.
Resources had been provided, he had access to the Ebenrak family’s 9-level ether training room, and there were still several months left before the expedition began. Time was more than sufficient.
The spiritual energy density inside the 9-level ether training room was about ten percent higher than that of the Primordial Forest. The downside was that prolonged use consumed resources to maintain the concentration, but that was the Ebenrak family’s concern, not his.
The spiritual energy drawn in swirls violently around his body and soul, forming countless law patterns and formations. It scatters light of every hue, seeping in and bursting out repeatedly like an endless tempering process.
The most intense flow and transformation, naturally, occurred at his dantian.
The waves of spiritual energy operating according to the Taiyi Five Elements Dao Scripture showed faint movements connected even to the Primordial Chaos realm. They formed an enormous flow of law patterns that spread outward like clouds, creating a kind of Dao Cloud.
At the same time, the Dao Patterns that appeared around Han Yujin’s dantian rotated three full circles before completing their form.
The natural flow of Taiyi Five Elements energy blended seamlessly with the dreamlike aura, fusing together. Within the dantian that seemed to contain a galactic nebula, the brilliant form of a dragon appeared and vanished.
At that moment, Han Yujin slowly opened his eyes.
Vertical pupils of cosmic hue radiated a clear, oppressive presence before vanishing completely after several blinks, as if they had been nothing more than an illusion.
‘If I train just a little more, I feel like I’ll obtain a new divine ability.’
It would almost certainly be related to vision.
He had already gained an incredible amount, yet the prospect of obtaining something new was both delightful and astonishing.
‘No… with a Void Refinement stage Dragon Heart, this much is only natural.’
And it wasn’t just the divine abilities that were beneficial.
He had already completed the Three-Turn Law Core without any obstacles. Only six steps remained until the Nine-Turn Law Core, the ultimate achievement of the Core Formation stage.
Here, “turn” referred to a kind of encirclement.
Thus, the Three-Turn Law Core meant the Dao Patterns had encircled the dantian three times, while the Nine-Turn Law Core meant they had done so nine times.
The Nine-Turn Law Core was also called the Nine-Turn Golden Core, and those who achieved it were specially honored with the title of Golden Core stage.
Generally, reaching the Six-Turn Law Core was enough to advance to the Nascent Soul stage, so few continued training beyond that point.
Of course, achieving the Nine-Turn Law Core before ascending to Nascent Soul was far superior. However, it was an incredibly difficult feat.
The Core Formation stage was notorious for inexplicable bottlenecks that could arise one after another, even for the cultivator themselves. It was common for people to feel the limits of their lifespan just trying to reach the Six-Turn Law Core.
Yet Han Yujin had not encountered a single such bottleneck so far. Strangely, he felt he never would.
Moreover, the speed of Dao Pattern formation—which normally slowed down progressively—had shown no difference even at the third turn.
Even though he had slightly neglected training to focus on crafting his true name treasure, reaching this point meant that if he devoted himself fully, he might complete the Nine-Turn Golden Core in merely twenty or thirty years.
‘The more I think about it, the more absurd this speed seems…’
No matter how much of a heaven-sent genius one was, such speed was impossible. Only someone like him, who also possessed a Dao Body, could achieve it.
It was all thanks to completing the external core method with the Dragon Heart.
He felt a surge of satisfaction at how right his choice had been. At the same time, he felt grateful toward Casarnox.
He took out the half-remaining nectar, the Aion Extract, from his spacer ring. Since his motivation was high, he intended to continue training.
While focusing on training and taking occasional breaks in between.
He began properly decorating the interior of the Mountain Sea Pearl. It wasn’t that he had simply left it neglected; he had been pondering from time to time what kind of layout would be best for living quarters, workshops, and the like.
He built an alchemy room slightly downhill from the spirit field that Mu-yong had diligently cultivated.
On the opposite side, he constructed an artifact workshop containing various crafting equipment.
On yet another side, he built a multi-purpose workshop in a roughly triangular arrangement. It would likely be used for talisman crafting and similar tasks in the future.
He constructed a training room near the mountain peak. The reason he had spaced the buildings apart like this was to minimize damage in case of unexpected explosions or accidents.
Finally, he built the living quarters in a spot where both the mountain and the lake were visible, with excellent sunlight.
The exteriors of the alchemy room and artifact workshop drew heavily from Galactic Empire architectural styles, giving them a sleek, futuristic feel. The multi-purpose workshop was similar.
The training room near the mountain summit was not exposed but built in the form of a cave. It was better for mental focus, and it was also advantageous for securing safety with formations.
The living quarters perfectly resembled Mugeuk Manor, where he had stayed in the martial world.
As soon as Han Yujin completed the buildings using several construction techniques including the Cloud Manipulation Art, Mu-yong wandered around the area for a long time, seemingly reminded of Eun Miryeong. She appeared both happy and slightly melancholic.
Just as she had played around the area back then.
‘If my wife had seen this place, she would surely have marveled at how wonderful it is…’
Even with his eyes closed, he could still vividly recall her appearance. He could easily imagine what kind of reaction she would have shown if she were truly here.
After briefly losing himself in memories, he quickly regained his composure and continued with the finishing touches. There were still many fine details left unfinished.
About four months passed like that.
Finally, the Ebenrak family’s exploration team completed its reorganization and established its mission parameters.
Brenar was naturally appointed as the team leader, and Han Yujin was surprisingly named vice-leader. The 7-level spiritualist who had previously held the leader position did not openly complain, but he left an impression by shooting Han Yujin a sharp glare.
The man was a middle-aged individual named Winsfell with reddish-gold hair and a robust build. He was over two hundred years old and, as his hair color suggested, carried the bloodline of the Ebenrak family.
It was as if an outsider had pushed aside the stone that had been embedded there, but Han Yujin paid it no mind. If the other party had any sense, he wouldn’t cause unnecessary trouble, and over time he would inevitably come to realize the difference in their abilities.
The exploration team’s cruiser-class spaceship, the Aureum, departed for Planet P-221 on the outskirts of the Galactic Empire, carrying roughly a hundred crew members.
Using the Ebenrak family’s intelligence network, they had learned that a special black market and auction were being held on that planet.
Looking at the details, it was indeed not something a private exploration team could easily pass up.
Due to the planet’s nature, security was extremely poor, so there was a clear element of danger. However, with an 11-level spiritualist like Brenar as leader, there was nothing to worry about.
After a voyage of just over two weeks.
The Aureum arrived at Planet P-221.
⊳ Commander: Brenar (Level 11)
⊳ Vice-Commander: Han Yujin (Level 7)
⊳ Mission: Investigate black market auction on P-221
“Hmm~ Hmhm~.”
Brenar seemed to be in an especially good mood today. It might have had something to do with the metal flask in her hand, from which liquor could be heard sloshing around.
Even during her time in the space force, he had occasionally noticed it, but now that she was a civilian, she was truly obsessed with alcohol. She almost always carried a flask whenever they met. If she hadn’t been such a skilled spiritualist, she would have become an alcoholic long ago.
Following behind her, Han Yujin observed their surroundings. In stark contrast to Brenar’s cheerful mood, only a bleak landscape filled his vision.
The sky was a gloomy blue-green, the streets were cracked and muddy in places, and the buildings on both sides were covered with garish advertising signs emitting all sorts of flashy lights, giving an overall impression of tackiness.
The content of those signs was hardly wholesome, and most of the people coming and going had a sinister atmosphere about them.
‘It’s hard to believe this is still territory of the Galactic Empire.’
It could be considered a slum planet. This world alone felt like it had fallen into a science fiction-style dystopia.
“We should be arriving soon.”
After observing the surroundings a little longer to gauge the atmosphere, Han Yujin spoke.
Naturally, it was hardly a casual stroll for the exploration team’s commander and vice-commander to be moving together like this.
“How much do you know about the elf race from the Magic Sanctuary?”
It was a somewhat abrupt question, but Han Yujin recalled the ‘airship’ he had seen at this planet’s ‘illegal dock’ and answered.
“I don’t know much in detail. Only that their natural lifespan is around two hundred years and that they are skilled in spirit arts.”
“I hear those guys are also quite knowledgeable about brewing. They say it’s on the level of nectar or elixir?”
“Ah.”
In that case, it made sense that Brenar was heading toward the owners of that ‘airship’ right now.
A short while later.
They had entered a more remote area where even foot traffic had grown sparse, exuding a closed-off atmosphere.
Brenar’s light footsteps suddenly came to a halt. Han Yujin, who had stopped alongside her, couldn’t hide his fascination as he looked at the eight figures in black robes who had appeared like ghosts to block their path.
It was strangely fascinating to see fantasy-style attire in a place like this.
“If you’ve taken the wrong path, turn back. This is an area humans cannot enter freely.”
One of the black-robed figures, who seemed to be the leader, stepped forward and pointed back the way Brenar and Han Yujin had come.
“To hear that there is an area within our empire’s territory that humans cannot enter.”
Brenar spoke with a hint of laughter in her voice as she glanced over each of them.
“I have something to discuss with your leader. Could you guide us?”
A brief silence fell.
Then, the black-robed figure standing farthest to the left turned to look at his companions as if seeking their opinion and said,
“How about we just capture them? Both of them have decent looks for humans. We could sell them to the slave traders here and make some money.”
“Hmm…”
The black-robed figure who had first told them to turn back showed clear interest.
Han Yujin let out a silent, hollow laugh.
To speak of enslaving someone who was a mid-stage Nascent Soul equivalent—an 11-level spiritualist—was simply too ridiculous.
In the meantime, one corner of Brenar’s mouth slowly curled upward.
From the look of it, she seemed quite pleased that she could now carry out ‘self-defense’ without needing to negotiate.