A Cliff's Worth of Growth

With his full-fledged hunter activities right around the corner, Han Yujin had never expected to obtain such a massive amount of Karma. Despite the lingering unease that came with it, this was something he had no choice but to welcome.

With enough Karma, he could grow stronger in leaps and bounds every time he woke up from a nap. And this particular growth spurt was going to be especially dramatic.

Not just a step up the staircase — more like leaping off a small cliff.

‘This should be more than enough to reach the Dharma Soul stage.’

He would finally leave behind the Initiation stage, which felt a bit awkward to even call him a true cultivator. He was already acknowledged as an A-rank hunter in terms of combat power, but reaching the Dharma Soul stage would clearly make him an S-rank hunter.

In truth, what pleased him more than the rank itself was the fact that he would become that much safer in reality.

S-rank hunters were the absolute pinnacle of powerhouses, fewer than a hundred across the entire world.

They were living strategic weapons — beings that ordinary firearms couldn’t kill, that required the full mobilization of military force to even confront. Yet because they were individuals, it was said that once they disappeared into an urban area, there was almost no way to subdue them.

It was practically common knowledge that the international treaty preventing hunters from participating in wars as soldiers had been created largely because of them. They were also the very people that many world leaders truly feared and sought to keep in check.

In fact, in several underdeveloped countries, individuals possessing S-rank hunter might had already overthrown regimes and ruled as dictators. For decades now, they had been ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠calmly eradicating the so-called “rebels” who dared point guns at them.

‘In short, as long as I don’t let my guard down, there’s almost no way I’ll die.’

Whether that pseudo-religious international drug cartel came for revenge or not, he would be fine. He could carry out hunter activities in complete safety, of course. Money and fame were merely secondary concerns at this point.

‘Money and fame being secondary… huh.’

Suddenly, Han Yujin realized how much his way of thinking had already become that of a true cultivator.

Money and fame were inevitably secondary. They would come naturally once he achieved longevity.

The reason he had first longed for awakening had definitely been money. Yet now that he had awakened, he had naturally developed the mindset that he could pour money away like water if it was for the sake of growth.

‘Of course, that doesn’t mean I have zero interest in money or fame.’

The stronger he became, the more he would be able to enjoy those things without worrying about being undermined by others.

Wrapping up his thoughts at about that point, Han Yujin focused on the ever-shifting door before his eyes.

This visit to the Primordial Forest for training actually had one additional goal.

He was going to tame that arrogant, useless rabbit-weasel using the Tongmyeong Eosu-gyeol, something he had postponed due to his lack of Karma.

‘I think I’ll only be able to select it as a harvest if I bind it like that.’

The creature would probably be of little use to him now or in the future. But how could a person only ever do useful things their whole life? It would be enough if he could just pet it whenever he felt like it and relieve some stress.

Especially in a place like the Primordial Forest, where loneliness could easily creep in.

Anyway.

It was clear how he should choose the location and time for this visit to the Primordial Forest.

‘Exactly the same as last time.’

It would be nice if he could arrive right before the rabbit-weasel was attacked, but that was impossible. His past self was physically present at that moment.

It wasn’t simply because two versions of himself couldn’t exist at the same time. Any form of intervention in the past through his awakening ability should be considered impossible.

‘If that weren’t the case, then a pile of gifts left behind by a far-future Han Yujin should already be waiting in the Primordial Forest I’m about to visit.’

In other words, not only could he not exist in the same time period, he couldn’t exist in the same location across past and future either. The more he thought about it, the more it became a complicated time paradox.

And in truth, Han Yujin had gradually come to realize something about his awakening ability, so he didn’t bother agonizing over such time paradoxes.

‘The more I understand my awakening ability… the more it feels like running some kind of simulation.’

Not that it literally was a simulation — just that the sensation was similar.

If he thought of it as experiencing a perfectly recreated simulation of a specific time period in a particular world, everything clicked into place.

No matter how much he intervened in the past or future within a simulation, it couldn’t affect the original. Moreover, events that occurred there had never truly existed, so they couldn’t become the subject of another simulation.

Wouldn’t it be strange for another simulation to interfere with an already-running one? Running a simulation inside a simulation — the moment you did that, it would cease to be a simulation at all.

‘The reason I couldn’t fix the door to a past point on the post-apocalyptic Earth… probably wasn’t because of a time paradox, but for some other reason.’

It could be because he was still inexperienced at handling the ability, or perhaps the ability itself had that limitation from the start.

Either way, it wasn’t something he needed to ponder deeply right now. What mattered at the moment was fixing the door to the exact location and time of his first visit to the Primordial Forest.

Having completely organized his thoughts, Han Yujin reached out his hand.

And the door lived up to his expectations.

The sight of roughly stacked stones barely covered by lush vines, as if no proper civilization existed here, couldn’t have been more welcome.

Even though he had fully expected success, he felt a surge of excitement. He brushed aside the hanging vines and stepped inside.

Or rather, one could just as accurately say he stepped outside.

The thick scent of vegetation filled the air. Massive trees soared toward the sky, their canopies creating a dim, shadowy landscape filled with countless bushes.

This was a vast Primordial Forest whose boundaries were impossible to grasp easily.

His outfit was the same practical, modern explorer’s clothing as before. He took a deep breath of the rich spiritual energy and fastened items like a water bottle to his belt.

“You’re all dead meat, you bastards.”

He hadn’t been addressing anyone in particular, but the monkey monsters and wolf beasts briefly flashed through his mind.

Following his earlier plan, Han Yujin retraced his memories and soon found the earthen cave formed beneath the exposed roots of that same tree.

It was exactly the same size — just big enough for one person to squeeze through — and looked precisely as it had the first time.

‘I really struggled digging this thing out back then.’

With that thought, he activated the earth-manipulation technique he had learned from the Ohaeng spellbook.

It was impossible not to feel a sense of having overcome time. This was the refined elegance of a true cultivator, was it not?

After creating a cave that felt both wider and cozier than before, he moved to a nearby rocky area, found the exact same stone from that time, and used a levitation technique to float it through the air and bring it over.

What he was waiting for was none other than the monkey monsters’ attack.

‘How dare they scare me like that.’

Han Yujin thought with an involuntary grin.

‘This time, I’ll teach you what fear really is.’

For the sake of this small but undoubtedly satisfying revenge, it was worth investing as much mental energy as needed.

Worried about getting beaten instead?

That would only be possible if he let his guard down considerably.

He had won even back then, when he had only been introduced to the Dao for half a day. In this place overflowing with spiritual energy, he couldn’t even imagine himself losing.

Time passed quickly as he sat in the cozy pit, circulating the Hoe-won Gong.

It was now the dead of night, the surroundings as dark as ink.

The night in the Primordial Forest was both quiet and, at the same time, not. The chirping of insects nearby, the faint calls of nocturnal mountain birds from afar, and even farther away, the howling of unidentified beasts.

In some ways, it could be considered extremely noisy and fierce.

In such a place, Han Yujin had activated his stealth technique to emit an aura similar to that time, focusing his attention on any movement outside as he waited for them to come.

This wasn’t just for revenge. It was also a necessary step if he wanted to meet the rabbit-weasel, his secondary objective.

So he waited patiently, and at one ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠point, a faint smile crept across Han Yujin’s lips.

Rustle—

Then came that familiar strange noise that had startled him so badly before. A little more time passed.

Thud—!

Just like then, the stone blocking the entrance shook violently. Han Yujin clamped a hand over his mouth to stop himself from laughing and pointed his Ohaeng sword in that direction.

‘You’re dead. For real this time.’

Of course he had died back then too, but this time it would be in a slightly different way.

The moment that thought crossed his mind, the rather heavy stone flew backward and disappeared. Then, through the hole leading outside, the face of a monkey monster appeared, its yellowish eyes gleaming.

The creature looked at Han Yujin — who was pointing a strange staff at it with one hand while covering his mouth with the other — and seemed to instinctively sense that something was off. It began to pull its face back slightly.

“Where do you think you’re going, you Planet of the Apes bastard?”

Finally unable to hold back his laughter, Han Yujin spoke ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠aloud and activated the spell restriction on his Ohaeng sword.

A blue-gray light flowed out, and the fierce wind that erupted from the blade slammed into the monkey monster, knocking it down. Before it could even scream, the whirlwind battered it senseless.

There was no way it couldn’t feel the invisible blades mixed into the wind slicing across its fur again and again. The monkey monster realized it had picked the wrong opponent and its eyes filled with complete panic.

“Scared? Huh?”

Han Yujin threatened the creature, forcing it to back away, then climbed out of the pit with an extremely relaxed attitude. He looked down at the monkey monster, now completely terrified and cowering.

“I was fucking terrified back then too. So how about this!”

He raised the sword and stimulated the spell restriction. The sound of the swirling wind grew even more ferocious. The way the monkey monster flinched and curled up was both ridiculous and somehow pitiful.

“Anyway, since I won back then too, I won’t torture you.”

Han Yujin wasn’t a psychopath; he had no interest in such things. He simply felt a refreshing sense of having paid back the fear he had felt before, and gave the Ohaeng sword a casual flick.

A single sharp blade of wind shot forward at terrifying speed and decapitated the monster before it could react. The flames that erupted afterward burned only the severed head along with the surrounding bushes.

He had left the body intact for a simple reason.

‘The smell of burning is fine like last time, but burning the meat too would be a waste.’

The head was a part he couldn’t stomach anyway, so he had disposed of it together. He could butcher the rest later. The smell of blood would also serve to lure the rabbit-weasels.

He stood tall in roughly the same spot as before, waiting for the other monkey monsters to appear. Naturally, he kept his stealth technique active to look like easy prey.

‘Whether I lured them first or not, I’ll kill every single one that attacks me.’

It was only natural — if you try to kill someone, you must be prepared to be killed yourself. This wasn’t a matter of right or wrong; it was simply the law of nature.

A short while later.

The seven monkey monsters appeared faster than he had expected. Perhaps because he had been so tense last time, it had felt much longer.

Anyway, one thought suddenly occurred to him.

It was something he had considered when he first learned the fire bullet technique — ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠that maybe he could have used it to seize the initiative and suppress the monkey monsters in one blow.

“Nice to see you again, you bastards.”

So Han Yujin didn’t hesitate. He floated the Ohaeng sword in the air beside him, formed a fire bullet in his right hand, and hurled it at the ground nearby.

The flash and roar of the spell he had thrown with full intent were truly tremendous. The monsters, who had been filled with murderous intent over their comrade’s death, suddenly lost all momentum. They flinched hard, their aggression evaporating.

Han Yujin laughed at the sight.

“What’s wrong? Why don’t you roar like you did back then?”

It wasn’t even a shout — just a casual remark. Yet the way the monsters flinched even harder only deepened his smile.

“You’re not going to run, are you? Isn’t this your territory?”

Beasts didn’t easily flee when their territory was invaded. On an instinctive level, they knew that trying to claim a new territory would mean fighting anyway.

— Kuuwaaaaaaaaak—!!!

At that moment, one of the monkey monsters let out its signature roar. It was clearly an attempt to rally their fighting spirit. The others joined in, roaring as they bravely charged at Han Yujin.

Han Yujin laughed out loud and manipulated the Ohaeng sword.

The spell restriction erupted in flashes of light. Golden energy shot out in streams, slaughtering the charging monsters one after another. The sight of creatures that had been shaking the ground with their momentum being effortlessly sliced apart and sent tumbling might have seemed like an illusion if not for the gushing blood and spilled innards.

The battle ended in the time it took to draw a single breath. Han Yujin felt refreshed, yet somehow a little empty.

‘These were the guys that terrified me so much back then…’

Power truly was relative. If he himself encountered someone stronger, he would probably die just as pathetically as they had.

After observing the aftermath of the one-sided fight a little longer, he reminded himself that he would have to wait until dawn anyway. The rabbit-weasels would probably appear around then.

‘In that case, instead of just wasting time, I might as well go check out their nest.’

He needed to visit before the wolf beasts could completely ransack the monkey monsters’ lair. The image of those bleak black trees and the spiritual-energy-rich seeds scattered around them was still vivid in his mind.

‘I should see what kind of fruit was growing on them.’

This could be his first proper use of the pill-refining techniques he had learned.