The Brush of Golden Radiance
‘Using divine sense is way too finicky…’
Han Yujin grumbled inwardly as he wandered through the capital. From within his robes, Mu-yong squeaked in agreement.
Every talisman and formation pattern scattered across the city reacted the instant they encountered his divine sense. If even rural villages had been like this, the capital was bound to be far worse.
Ghosts were naturally gifted in this field, so it made sense that the mysticism of this world had developed along these lines. Still, that didn’t make it any less frustrating.
Because of that, simply circling the capital once to survey it had taken far more time than he’d expected.
What he concluded was that even though people who trained in supernatural powers clearly existed, society operated almost exactly like an ordinary mortal kingdom.
‘Even without any spiritual roots at all, you can still serve as a civil official and stand shoulder to shoulder with the Ghost Ministry officials.’
Of course, reaching the highest offices would be difficult, but considering how much raw power mattered in ancient civilizations, this was astonishing.
‘It must be because of the powerful external threat posed by ghosts.’
It seemed they had developed a culture of recruiting talent regardless of spiritual roots, borrowing any helping hand they could get.
After roughly finishing his inspection, Han Yujin turned his steps toward the inner city district.
‘I could sneak in like a thief, take what I want, offer some compensation of my own, and leave.’
But there was no real need to do it that way. Besides, he had already spent a long time in the Galactic Empire hiding both his identity and his true strength. This time, he felt like doing the complete opposite.
“Mu-yong.”
Jjik?
“Do you think there are any Nascent Soul stage beings in this country?”
The little creature tilted her small head in thought for a moment, then shook it. She was so unbearably cute that he stroked her head as he spoke.
“I thought so too.”
Even if one existed, they probably wouldn’t immediately look down on him or attack. And if his prediction was wrong and he ran into trouble, he could simply die and visit again later.
That would likely result in something very unpleasant happening to the Zhou Kingdom.
“Let’s go.”
Having made up his mind, he completely withdrew Monghwan Yusim and released his aura naturally. Then, as if he had nothing to hide, he headed straight for the inner city gate.
Perhaps because it was the Ghost Gate Festival, the guards at the inner gate were all standing at rigid attention, and there were four people who appeared to be from the Ghost Ministry.
They had sensed something unusual the moment they spotted Han Yujin approaching from afar and were already completely tense. One of the Ghost Ministry officials had even sent several soldiers running inside—apparently calling for reinforcements.
And so.
The instant Han Yujin stood before the inner gate, a suffocating tension settled over the area.
The gate guards who should have been performing inspections kept glancing at the Ghost Ministry officials and stayed silent. The officials themselves looked like they could barely breathe, cold sweat pouring down their faces, completely at a loss for what to do.
“Aren’t you going to ask who I am?”
In the end, Han Yujin spoke first, stroking Mu-yong inside his robes with a relaxed demeanor.
One of the Ghost Ministry officials glanced at the small creature in his arms and seemed to relax, if only slightly. Probably because while there were many human ghosts in this world, beast ghosts were extremely rare.
“W-who are you, sir?”
After another stretch of silence, the official who had gained a bit of courage from looking at Mu-yong finally asked.
“A cultivator.”
He had wondered if they might recognize the term, but their expressions showed they had no idea what he meant.
In the meantime, he saw the soldiers who had been sent inside earlier come rushing back, hurriedly following someone.
The person leading them moved with surprising ease, gliding forward in long, smooth strides. At first glance, he looked like a young man.
But the moment their eyes met, Han Yujin immediately realized the man was actually quite old, and the other party seemed to have reached the same conclusion.
‘To bring someone of this caliber in such a short time.’
At the very least, he was at the late Dharma Soul stage. He might have even taken half a step into Core Formation.
While Han Yujin was making his assessment, the man arrived and greeted him with a palm-over-fist salute according to this world’s etiquette.
“An esteemed elder has come to visit. I am Im Gun-rang, Third Rank Ghost Minister of the Zhou Kingdom. How should this one address you, elder?”
“Call me Investigator.”
“Investigator…?”
The Ghost Ministry official who had spoken with Han Yujin earlier leaned in and whispered “cultivator” into his ear.
Im Gun-rang’s expression changed. Unlike the others, he clearly knew what the term meant.
His voice trembled noticeably as he asked again.
“……Are you truly a cultivator?”
Jjik-!
Mu-yong, who was unleashing her full Dharma Soul stage aura without restraint, let out a cry and nodded vigorously on Han Yujin’s behalf.
Whether it was because he had revealed himself as a cultivator or simply because his aura as a Void Refinement investigator was overwhelming, he was treated with utmost respect and allowed to enter the royal palace immediately. He had expected to be guided by a chamberlain or the like, but instead he was taken straight to the audience hall to meet the king.
The audience hall he arrived at was neither particularly large nor oppressive, but it carried the weight of age and solemn formality. Beyond the stone steps stood the king seated on his throne, along with four or five elderly officials who appeared to be high ministers and several Ghost Ministry officers.
The king looked middle-aged with a robust build. He wasn’t exceptionally handsome, but his sharp features suited the dignity of a ruler perfectly. He was clearly older than he appeared, much like Im Gun-rang.
“Welcome.”
The king greeted him with half-formal speech. Han Yujin answered calmly.
“Nice to meet you.”
His attitude toward the ruler of a nation was far too casual, yet no one dared criticize it. They couldn’t.
The aura he had released naturally—without any exaggeration—as a Void Refinement investigator was enough to make even the Zhou king, who could be considered a full Core Formation expert, unable to completely hide his tension.
Moreover, the visitor had called himself not merely a powerful Ghost Ministry officer, but a “cultivator.”
According to many ancient texts of the Zhou Kingdom, that meant he was at least two or three steps stronger, more bizarre, more cunning, more versatile, and more ruthless than someone of similar aura.
“May I ask what brings you to our kingdom?”
“Nothing too complicated. I’d like to make a deal. While traveling, I realized I needed to study ghosts more thoroughly.”
“……Hmm. Then you’ve certainly come to the right place.”
The Zhou king seemed to relax slightly at his opponent’s surprisingly reasonable attitude and engaged in conversation. Every so often, his gaze drifted to the small creature in Han Yujin’s arms.
‘That tiny pet is giving off the aura of a Spirit General… Even if he isn’t a true cultivator, we cannot afford to underestimate him.’
Han Yujin could roughly guess what the king was thinking from experience.
As the conversation continued.
“I suppose I should tell you what I encountered on my way here.”
Han Yujin briefly explained what had happened at the local government office. A heavy silence fell over the audience hall. Then the Zhou king’s face flushed with anger as he seemed to grasp the situation and expressed his gratitude.
“That was truly valuable information. Thank you.”
“Consider it payment for my lodging while I stay here.”
At those words, the king’s expression cleared and he nodded. He even smiled faintly.
“I understand what kind of knowledge and treasures you seek. In return, what would you offer us?”
The important part of the discussion had begun.
“First, we can exchange knowledge.”
The king’s eyes sparkled at that. One civil official and two Ghost Ministry officers swallowed hard. They were clearly very interested in the knowledge of a legendary “cultivator.”
Han Yujin lightly raised one hand and drew forth a faint strand of Purple Heaven Divine Lightning.
Crackle…!
The sound itself was unimpressive, but the energy spreading from that single purple bolt was anything but.
All the Ghost Ministry officers trembled as if struck by lightning. Even the civil officials, who lacked their power but were far from ordinary, widened their eyes in shock.
“W-what is that?”
The Zhou king, the most powerful person present, even stuttered as he asked.
“It’s called Purple Heaven Divine Lightning. It’s extremely effective at breaking evil techniques, repelling malevolent entities, and destroying ghosts. I will teach you a cultivation method that allows one to train this Purple Heaven Divine Lightning up to the Core Formation stage.”
After speaking with the Zhou king for a while, Han Yujin realized their knowledge of ghosts was far deeper and more extensive than he had expected. Therefore, offering only up to Core Formation was, from his perspective, a deliberate half-discount made with negotiation in mind.
However.
The Zhou king exchanged a few words with one of the elderly officials—something like a whispered transmission—then smiled brightly and accepted.
“Excellent! Very good! Hahaha…! As expected of a venerable master!”
His speech suddenly shifted from half-formal to fully respectful.
“I am already more than satisfied, but I would like to hear what other compensation you can offer.”
Realizing that they valued Purple Heaven Divine Lightning far more highly than expected, and guessing they might have some method to further develop Core Formation knowledge, Han Yujin nodded.
“Before I present that, I have a question. How strong is this ‘Ghost King’ in terms of cultivator realms?”
When the king glanced at the civil officials, the elders whispered among themselves before one stepped forward and answered respectfully.
“We estimate it falls slightly short of the Nascent Soul stage. However, its strength fluctuates with the seasons. During its weakened periods, it should drop to around late Core Formation.”
That was a very satisfactory answer. Han Yujin smiled and nodded.
“Then I can offer to deal with the Ghost King as compensation. I have already slain one at the early Nascent Soul stage before, so handling two or three at late Core Formation at once should be no problem.”
A brief silence fell.
The Zhou king showed a faint hint of disbelief at Han Yujin’s words, but he seemed to accept that the man could at least handle a weakened Ghost King.
That was why he suddenly fell into serious contemplation, forgetting his earlier delight.
It was a clear demonstration of just how precious the characteristics of Purple Heaven Divine Lightning were to them, and how threatening the existence known as the Ghost King truly was.
From a long-term perspective, obtaining the Purple Heaven Divine Lightning cultivation method would obviously be the better choice, but it seemed that if they didn’t borrow someone else’s hand to eliminate the Ghost King right now, that future itself would be in jeopardy.
“……Venerable Master, could you not provide both?”
In the end, he made the offer.
Han Yujin looked at him for a moment, then smiled and asked.
“That means you have more items worth trading, correct?”
“Of course.”
The Zhou king then took out a box from the jade belt at his waist. Han Yujin could immediately tell it was a magical tool similar to a storage device. The box that appeared was extravagantly decorated with gold and jade.
When the lid opened, it revealed a lining of pure white fabric that shimmered with a golden luster. In the center lay a single brush that was similarly snow-white like fresh snow, yet carried a faint golden sheen.
“This is our Zhou Kingdom’s national treasure and the royal family’s heirloom—the Golden Radiance White Phoenix Brush.”
Han Yujin stared quietly at the contents of the box and marveled inwardly.
‘……It’s almost like a Heavenly Treasure.’
He couldn’t sense any particular spirit aura, but since treasures like the Ghost Soul Banner also lacked spirit auras, his judgment was probably correct.
“If you eliminate the Ghost King for us, I will give you this.”
The Zhou king spoke with deadly seriousness.
After concluding the trade negotiations, Han Yujin was guided to the most important guest palace in the royal compound. He was also granted permission to access the first floor of the royal archive.
The deal was structured so that he would first examine all the knowledge on the first floor, then teach the early sections of the Purple Heaven Divine Lightning manual. After that, he would examine the second floor and teach the middle sections.
The royal archive was not small, and the lower-importance knowledge came in vast quantities. Even for him, a Void Refinement investigator, it took more than half a month to go through everything on the first floor.
In truth, the biggest reason it took so long was that the archive could not be used at night. It was one of this world’s major taboos.
‘They say that if you discover and read books containing knowledge that must never be known, terrible things will happen.’
He was curious whether it would actually cause problems for him, but he decided to hold off for now.
By the time he had absorbed all the knowledge on the first floor and handed over the early sections of the Purple Heaven Divine Lightning manual as promised, the Ghost Gate Festival had already ended.
The Zhou side needed time to verify the contents of the manual, and it was not yet the season when the Ghost King weakened, so there was a temporary lull.
Then one day.
Han Yujin cleared all the servants from the guest palace and even installed barrier devices in the form of drones that he had brought from the Galactic Empire, making thorough preparations.
They were not meant to block external interference, but rather sealing-type barriers to prevent anything from escaping outward.
Today, he intended to break one of this world’s taboos.
“Alright.”
Inside the now-empty, silent guest palace.
Feeling a slight chill run down his spine yet brimming with excitement, and with Mu-yong constantly twitching her nose and sparkling with curiosity, he steeled his resolve.
And then.
“Is anyone there?”
Inside the empty guest palace, Han Yujin began searching for ‘someone.’