The Arrow of Four Years
Rumble...!
Mounds of earth surged upward, coalescing into buildings with rugged stone walls and gleaming glass. Then the ground itself flipped over in a single massive wave, revealing paths paved with blue stone slabs and flowerbeds meticulously formed from stacked boulders.
It was on an entirely different scale from the videos various earth-attribute ability users had recorded while trying to imitate Han Yujin. Seeing it with her own eyes, feeling the roar and vibrations through her body, the sight was truly overwhelming.
Sierra Blake, a Canadian influencer and personal broadcaster, had boldly asked Han Yujin directly and secured permission to film.
Yet the recent excommunication scandal had shaken her more than she let on. To prepare for any unforeseen incidents, she was recording rather than streaming live.
“Wow...”
Right now she could only utter endless gasps of awe, inwardly grateful that this was a recording. Her narration was admittedly terrible, but the scene demanded proper editing to capture its full visceral impact for viewers.
She was busy filming the transcendent construction when it happened.
“Huh?”
Suddenly the camera showed a woman standing beside Han Yujin. Sierra doubted her eyes. To her naked vision he was clearly alone, yet on the recording a woman stood affectionately close at his side.
After several seconds of confusion, the realization that this might be a supernatural phenomenon sent chills racing across her skin. That was when the woman in the footage abruptly twisted her head with a grotesque cracking sound.
Before the full horror could even register, Sierra’s gaze locked with the woman’s pitch-black eyes—eyes belonging to a head that had rotated a full one hundred and eighty degrees.
“Kyaa...!”
Sierra Blake let out a short scream and dropped the camera.
The eyes of those nearby snapped toward her, but she could only stare at the device lying on the ground, her face drained of all color, body frozen rigid.
“Here.”
A nearby hunter, unable to watch any longer, picked up the camera and handed it to her.
With trembling hands Sierra accepted it. Only after confirming with great difficulty that the woman had vanished from the screen did she finally breathe again.
As a side note, when she later gathered her courage and reviewed the footage with several others, they found nothing at all.
The construction of the inner sect grounds was completed in no time. They only needed enough living space for a few dozen people for now, so there was no reason for the project to drag on.
In the newly built Inner Sect Hall, Han Yujin gathered roughly thirty inner disciples. He offered them broad words of praise and encouragement, then distributed a Qi Accumulation Pill to each.
It was an exceptionally generous bestowal. As this was the early stage of founding the sect, such preferential treatment was necessary to some degree.
Furthermore, the top ten disciples received liquor infused with a single drop each of the Blood Lotus Wine, Barrier Lotus Wine, and Golden Lotus Wine from the Soul-Absorbing Five Lotus Wine Bottle. In other words, it was alcohol containing three drops of the Three Lotus Harmony Wine.
The new dormitories prepared for the inner disciples were more than twice as spacious as the previous ones and carried a distinctly more luxurious atmosphere. These distinctions were more than enough to instill proud self-esteem and fierce motivation in those who received them.
Thus, after finishing their conversation and leaving the Inner Sect Hall, every disciple walked away beaming with joy yet clearly ready to throw themselves straight back into training.
When Han Yujin had first begun construction here, he had assumed many hunters would prefer staying in outside hotels or similar accommodations. No matter how comfortably the buildings were designed, entertainment options were still severely lacking.
Yet none of them showed any desire to leave. They regarded the privilege of being here as far more honorable and satisfying than he had anticipated.
Even as these thoughts crossed his mind, he read the report that had arrived through Neo Dominion.
As expected, disturbances caused by the excommunicated were breaking out across the world. In the worst cases, there had even been terrorist acts that completely ignored public authority, resulting in civilian casualties.
According to a separate report from Park Seryong, numerous organizations and nations that had dared to withhold knowledge had voluntarily paid the price.
The massive piles of mana stones they had surrendered at great cost, along with the royalty income from the knowledge and Awakening Herb supply that had recently begun flowing in earnest, would be carefully stored.
I’ll need to transfer them here soon.
Absorbing them with karma could be done anytime, so he set that option aside for now. Using them as operating funds for the sect seemed wiser.
Park Seryong, having arrived outside the building, left someone waiting and entered alone. A quick check with his enhanced senses revealed the companion was Ryu Taeseob—the original bearer of the spatial awakening ability. The source of the Suit Ghost, in other words.
Calling him the “original” feels a bit strange…
Having met the Suit Ghost first, his mind naturally framed it that way.
Regardless, the man was a useful talent possessing a rare ability. The fact that Park Seryong brought him personally suggested he was quite competent in practical matters as well.
“I greet the Sect Leader.”
Han Yujin gestured for the respectful man to sit, then asked about various minor issues concerning the Korean government and Neo Dominion. Once he finished, Park Seryong offered his own suggestion first.
“I believe it would be wise to summon Secretary Oh Taemin into the sect. There are quite a few matters that require coordination with the Korean government. Having to call people back and forth every time is rather cumbersome.”
“A sound idea. If the man himself agrees, proceed.”
Considering how much attention the world was currently focusing on this place, any official dispatched here would essentially be experiencing a meteoric rise in career. The future prospects made that obvious.
After speaking a while longer, Han Yujin produced an Unbreakable Cold Ice box containing a Qi Accumulation Pill and handed it over.
Park Seryong, who already knew about the pill, immediately looked at it with burning longing. He accepted the box with extreme care.
“Consume it and raise your realm quickly. The ceremony to formally accept you as a true disciple will be held publicly.”
This was to grant him proper authority, since he would be handling many important tasks moving forward. Given his personality, it would also serve as a personal reward.
Han Yujin waited a moment for the man—who was nearly trembling with emotion—to compose himself.
He then took out another Unbreakable Cold Ice box and passed it over.
“This is the Soulwood Seed I mentioned before.”
“So this is...”
“I’ve already given you all the necessary instructions. I’ll leave the distribution method entirely in your hands. If cultivation succeeds, commercialization within five or six years shouldn’t be too difficult.”
Park Seryong showed absolute confidence, making it clear he felt no burden and could be trusted completely.
To obtain the Seonwon Dojong Pill, an enormous amount of karma will surely be required.
Without it, even if he acquired the Ohaeng Dao Body to balance his Dream Dragon Dao Body, any increase in realm or growth of the Dragon Heart would strengthen the Dream Dragon constitution as well, breaking the balance once more.
He could not keep pouring spiritual medicines to reinforce the Ohaeng Dao Body every time equilibrium collapsed. That would be like pouring water into a bottomless bucket.
Therefore, only one path remained.
He had to elevate Earth’s humanity, gather vast quantities of karma, and obtain the ingredients for the Seonwon Dojong Pill. Only then could he transform the Dragon Heart from its very roots according to the principles of Monghyeon Taegeuk.
Beyond simple coexistence and harmony between the Dream Dragon Dao Body and Ohaeng Dao Body, he needed to achieve fundamental fusion—the state that would be called the Monghyeon Taegeuk Dao Body.
The same naturally applied to his dharma power. At that point, the Dream Dragon Dharma Power would be known as Monghyeon Taegeuk Dharma Power.
Of course, it was still an exceedingly distant prospect.
After a thorough discussion, Han Yujin sent Park Seryong away and headed for the Sect Leader’s Hall. He stepped into the Mountain Sea Pearl. Whenever he stayed in the sect, he almost always kept the pearl’s entrance anchored there.
He had barely entered when he spotted Mu-yong racing toward him from afar, moving at full speed.
He had entrusted her with managing the spirit plantation since he planned to focus heavily on alchemy for a while. From the look of things, she had abandoned every task to come running.
He caught the little one who leaped straight into his arms and gave her a thorough petting, then continued toward the spirit plantation. The area had grown even larger than before. He examined it carefully, checking the condition of each spiritual plant.
“You’ve worked hard. You’re doing an excellent job.”
Jjik! Jjijik—!
She had even used the precious Honwon Stones as fertilizer. Having reached a critical stage of cultivation, Mu-yong had diligently applied the White Cloud Moisture Art and Black Cloud Deep Soil Art. As a result, most of the spiritual plants had already matured enough for use, and the rest would not require much longer.
The cultivation formation obtained from the Galactic Empire had contributed significantly as well. Since it operated continuously through the Honwon Stones, its efficiency far exceeded the original design.
Truly, the Honwon Stone is an incredible treasure.
He was glad he had taken the extra stones from the Primordial Forest a few days earlier, even at the cost of additional karma.
As he neared the end of his inspection, he glanced toward the training room. Park Heewon, who had consumed a Qi Accumulation Pill, was likely immersed in rigorous cultivation there right now.
Lee Won-hee had already finished absorbing her pill some time ago and had gone to visit her grandmother. The old woman’s health had been poor lately, so the girl visited whenever she could.
Her lifespan is nearly exhausted…
In the future he had witnessed through Ghost Wonhee, the grandmother had passed away around the time Lee Won-hee entered middle school.
Here, the improved environment might allow her to live a little longer. Even so, a lifespan already worn to its limit could not be fully restored.
Of course, it was not entirely impossible.
With his current abilities, if Han Yujin examined her personally and refined a custom spiritual pill, she might gain another decade or more.
However.
He had met Lee Won-hee’s grandmother several times already, including a recent visit together with the girl. The old woman reminded him of a candle whose wick had completely burned away. It was not merely her physical lifespan that was ending—her spirit itself had clearly reached its limit.
He was certain that forcibly extending her life would not bring her joy.
She had already lost all her children. Her relationship with her granddaughter remained subtly strained despite everything. She had fulfilled her duty as a grandmother, but it had been exactly that—a duty, nothing more.
By the time these thoughts concluded, he had reached the alchemy room.
On one side, the Galactic Empire equipment was running at full capacity. It was a high-dimensional simulation device that analyzed materials and previewed results from countless combinations.
What he was currently researching was, naturally, further improvement of the Five Elements Soft Body Pill. He was experimenting by adding fragments of Five Elements Spirit Stone and Five Elements Metal Stone to the original ingredients.
After observing for a while, he moved to the Three Origin Ninefold Extreme Mystic Fire Pill Furnace and examined the law formulas on its surface. At the same time, he fell into deep thought, recalling every rare and precious material currently in his possession.
Soon, perhaps growing bored, Mu-yong squirmed out of his embrace and headed outside. It seemed she was returning to tend the spirit plantation.
I really need to craft a dharma treasure for her…
He had postponed it repeatedly due to one reason or another. The time had come. Since he had already decided on the design, it would not take long.
Setting the thought aside, he returned to contemplating alchemy.
The situation was quiet for now, but the Heartless Tribulation had already been ignited. Since it had been triggered in connection with his Dragon Bloodline awakening, solving this particular cultivation issue might overlap considerably with overcoming that greater ordeal.
In other words, while there was no need to rush frantically, neither was this a time to relax and waste days idly.
With a grave expression, he continued examining the pill furnace, sinking ever deeper into thought.
Like an arrow released from a bow, four years passed in the blink of an eye.
Compared to the years Han Yujin had already lived, it was not a particularly long time. Yet it was the first time since gaining his ability that he had focused so intently on reality for such an extended period.
And Earth, transformed by the changes he had wrought, had experienced a period of frantic, relentless upheaval even in that brief span.