The Price of Greed

Having confirmed his opponent's death, he immediately transformed into a streak of light using the Five Elements Heavenly Escape Art and shot forward. Naturally, it was to help Brenar.

The old man looked utterly shocked that his comrade had died. He had orchestrated everything with the help of an internal traitor named Winsfell, only for an utterly absurd variable to appear. It was only natural he would be shaken.

It was common sense that a Level ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠10 spiritualist could not lose to one below Level 9. So it was obvious how he must have interpreted the current situation.

“You deceived me…!! Just how…?!”

They had been cautious enough to verify information even while using a traitor.

Unfortunately, Winsfell had no idea of Han Yujin’s true strength. Even Han Yujin himself had not believed he could defeat a Level 10 spiritualist, so there was no way Winsfell could have known.

In any case, the tide had completely turned, and now the one in danger was the old man.

He stopped their contest of strength and tried to retreat, but it was not easy. Just as Brenar had been unable to move freely earlier, the best he could do was stagger along while caught in her grasp.

This was not a simple exchange of raw power. In real time, they were pulling in the aftermath of their collisions, twisting the balance point of their forces, gnawing away at each other’s strength, and launching all kinds of invisible tactical battles.

In the middle of such a situation, Han Yujin aimed the Monghyeon-gyeong without any interference and activated the Cloud Dragon Claw.

Right before it struck, the masked old man bared his teeth in clear fury and swung his staff with decisive force.

In that fleeting instant, Brenar’s black-and-white energy, which had seized the opening, deflected the opponent’s attack and streaked forward like a ray of light. In response, the old man’s body split into multiple afterimages in an attempt to evade.

But Han Yujin’s Cloud Dragon Claw precisely seized one of them, while Brenar took charge of the rest, wrapping around and sealing them completely. Her own attack split apart in a bizarre manner, dividing into several branches.

Unfortunately for the old man, Brenar held the upper hand when it came to spatial manipulation. Moreover, a practitioner of her caliber would not make a mistake in such a situation.

─!!!

A bizarre sound rang out, like thick bundles of paper or metal plates being violently torn apart.

Instead of a scream, the old man vomited blood and scattered a turquoise Ether barrier across his entire body like splattered gore as he attempted to flee once ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠more. But a black-and-white radiance overtook him first, and at the same time, the front face of the Monghyeon-gyeong captured his image.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

The mirror’s front flipped to its reverse side, and the reflected image of the old man’s limbs twisting and shattering unfolded in reality.

Just like the dual-wielding swordsman before him, the Level 11 spiritualist old man froze for a brief moment under the attack of Han Yujin’s natal magic treasure—despite Han Yujin only being at the Core Formation stage.

Instinctively, the masked face turned to stare at Han Yujin.

Before any mental message could reach him, Brenar’s attack engulfed the old man and raged violently.

For a moment, desperate screams and frantic resistance seemed to echo from within, but once Brenar poured in her full power with clear intent, there was no chance of reversal.

In the end, the old man thrashed ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠desperately before meeting his end, shredded apart as if thrown into a blender.

It was truly a gruesome death.

Modern Earth’s Bible contains the proverb, “Those who live by the sword shall die by the sword.” It speaks of karmic retribution.

In the cultivation world, there is a saying: “Those who covet a fortuitous encounter shall eventually be devoured by that very encounter and fall from the clouds.” Here, a fortuitous encounter symbolizes an undeserved gain or greed, while “falling from the clouds” is a refined way of expressing a cultivator’s death.

As Brenar had told him before, the Dekarisys family had grown their power through all sorts of dirty and illegal means. There had also been recent rumors that they were growing increasingly reckless.

They must have committed quite a few of these murderous robberies.

The exact details would require investigation, but his intuition told him it was so.

However, no matter how carefully one fights, battle always carries risk.

They had likely deployed overwhelming force that wouldn’t attract the attention of the Space Force, but unfortunately, they had stepped on the landmine known as Han Yujin.

Now, it was the Dekarisys family’s turn to pay an additional price.

After securing the minimum amount of evidence—including the remains of the corpses—the two split up to collect the barrier equipment and personnel still active on the outskirts as further proof.

Brenar’s speed as an 11th-level spiritualist was naturally beyond words, and Han Yujin’s speed using the Five Elements Heavenly Escape Art was not far behind.

Capturing the six personnel operating the barrier equipment along with the devices themselves took only a few minutes.

The process went smoothly, except for the one fool who tried to resist because he was supposedly a Level 7 spiritualist and ended up torn to shreds by Brenar’s hand.

After that, the two ended their hunt and returned to the Space Force-managed starport. They contacted the family and simultaneously informed the Space Force of the general situation to request assistance.

Brenar’s career as a Space Force lieutenant colonel proved very helpful in that process.

Thanks to that, all the evidence and witnesses were loaded onto a Space Force supply ship and transported near the Ebenrak family’s territory.

Even if the Dekarisys family somehow learned of the current situation and tried to erase the evidence, they would not dare touch the Space Force unless they had lost their minds. At the destination, the Ebenrak family’s forces would be waiting to prevent any problems.

With the series of matters handled smoothly, the two found themselves with some free time.

They sat in the starport’s lounge, located in orbit, gazing down at the beautiful sight of Planet X-31 as they calmed their minds and bodies.

Then, Brenar suddenly spoke.

“Actually…”

She hesitated for a moment before continuing.

“I kept agonizing over whether I should stop you from leaving. It wasn’t that I didn’t respect you. I was worried about you, and I was scared that I would be too devastated.”

“……”

“But now, my heart is truly set.”

She looked at Han Yujin as if making a declaration.

“Like I said before, when the time comes for you to leave, don’t hesitate. Even if it means an eternal farewell, that would be the right choice.”

She turned her gaze back toward the planet and closed her eyes.

“To hold you back just because I’d be lonely or afraid you might come to harm… your talent is simply too extraordinary.”

Han Yujin had fought and ultimately defeated a Level 10 spiritualist. Even after searching through the entire history of the Galactic Empire and the cultivation world combined, such a case was almost unheard of. It was proof of an exceptional talent.

Instead of saying anything, Han Yujin quietly took Brenar’s hand.

The two remained silent for a long time, keenly feeling the approaching moment of parting that grew clearer with each passing second.

The hunt ended safely, yielding exactly the results they had hoped for. There had been a few thrilling moments along the way, but compared to the Dekarisys family’s ambush, they were nothing more than cute trifles.

After returning safely to the territory with their spoils, the Ebenrak family was already in the middle of publicly exposing the Dekarisys family’s criminal activities and handling the matter.

Given the other family’s already filthy reputation and the solid evidence, there was no reason to handle the incident privately. It was a golden opportunity to extract enormous gains without worrying about future repercussions.

The Dekarisys family might never recover from this incident.

With two spiritualists above Level 10 dead, an enormous gap had opened in their combat power. Once the Ebenrak family finished devouring them in the open world, hyena-like forces in the shadows would swarm in to settle old scores.

In any case.

Because it was difficult to reveal the secrets they had been hiding, the recognition Han Yujin received was considerably downplayed. Nevertheless, for helping Brenar, he was acknowledged for a great contribution and received a substantial reward in advance.

Most of the reward consisted of training resources that Brenar had specially selected for him. Thanks to that, his previously slowing cultivation speed gained momentum once again.

Even as he raced toward the ultimate achievement of the Core Formation stage—what should perhaps be called the Golden Core stage—he did not neglect his law technique training.

His victory this time had been entirely thanks to having learned the higher-level law techniques, even if incompletely.

And the reason he had gone out of his way to learn those higher-level techniques despite already considering himself the strongest at the Core Formation stage was partly because he had taken into account the ominous reaction previously shown by the Hyeongjo Hyeoneung-sul.

The time he had invested on the off chance that something might happen had helped him overcome a major crisis.

From this experience, he felt he had gained a slight sense of how to handle fate-sensing law techniques. If he didn’t let them control him, they could be quite useful as a tool for vigilance.

Additionally, he gave a proper name—“True Dragon Eye”—to the divine ability that had half-awakened and which he had been temporarily calling the Dragon Eye. It was a name that wasn’t too plain and properly captured its characteristics.

He also paid close attention to fusing the Yin-Yang Five Elements Power with the Origin Power Great Hand at a fundamental level.

Overall, they were fulfilling and peaceful days of training.

As time passed like that,

Brenar moved to find a successor for the traitor Winsfell, using the opportunity to also find a replacement for Han Yujin. After all, the exploration team’s operations could not stop just because he was leaving.

During the times when she was frequently away, he visited the information archive.

He occupied a private reading room, recalled the list stored in one corner of his mind, and checked whether the corresponding information had been updated.

Then he began searching for and examining information on the Xenos, something he had not paid much attention to until now.

With the qualifications of a Level 4 citizen, he could access nearly all information related to the Xenos. Thanks to that, he was able to accumulate quite a bit of new knowledge in a short time.

They really are beings worthy of being considered the Galactic Empire’s main enemy.

The more he learned, the more he reconfirmed just how dangerous they were.

While seriously contemplating something, he took out a data stick from his spacer ring.

It was the very letter that the mad AI Queen Elb had asked him to deliver to Emperor Luminous. The contents were closer to a curse, stating that he would never be able to advance further.

Could this really be nothing more than a simple curse or condemnation?

Although she had ultimately gone mad after failing to overcome the Soul-Splitting Tribulation, at least the voice of AI Queen Elb that he had heard in her final moments had sounded relatively normal. At the same time, he had not sensed any particular malice toward Emperor Luminous.

What if this letter contains clues that could help overcome Emperor Luminous’s weakness…?

The Emperor might be able to surpass the level of a 22nd-level spiritualist at the Dao Tribulation stage.

That would mean the Luminous Galactic Empire would become even stronger and safer. Consequently, the Ebenrak family and its members—including Brenar—would also become safer.

If the way I return to reality is simply going to change anyway, then there’s no reason not to deliver this.

His meeting with the Entertainer Magician had helped him reach this judgment.

If he had not had that experience, he would never have dared to consider meeting an Emperor who was a 22nd-level spiritualist, out of fear that it might negatively affect his own awakening ability.

After remaining silent a little longer, he suddenly took out a bottle of Jade Dew Wine and drank it, as if influenced by Brenar. Then he came to a conclusion.

It was impossible to know for certain.

If he was lucky, he might obtain something special in the form of a trade or reward.