Chapter 27 – A Torrent of Rewards

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Translated by Frog in the Well

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net
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Jin So-myeong, who thought of a shortcut to grow the mine, was gratified.

‘I wish a month later would come quickly. I should just ask for a thousand spirit stones as a gift for entering the Red Yang Sect.’

Smacking his lips while imagining that day, he stroked the Faceless Mask.

Becoming a different identity, he headed to the Library Pavilion.

“Shopkeeper. Have you obtained the martial arts manuals I ordered last time?”

“Ah! It was you, guest. Please come this way. I have obtained a few.”

Thud!

The owner, who took out a stack of old books from his storage pouch, gave a bitter smile.

“It turned out that mortals’ martial arts are not to be ignored. Actually trying to find them was harder than obtaining immortal arts.”

“Still, you have obtained a lot. At a glance, it looks like dozens of volumes.”

“Haha… You will see when you look.”

Leaving the questionable reaction behind.

He inspected the books handed over by the Library Pavilion owner one by one.

Rustle!

Jin So-myeong’s face darkened as he turned the pages and scanned quickly.

“…”

This was because not all martial arts were as useful as the Rising Dragon Steps and the Flying Swallow Horse-Slaying Saber Art.

Most were trivial, miscellaneous tricks.

They were useless even if mastered to great completion, so there was no need to learn them.

“Hmm…? Turtle Breathing Art. This is quite decent.”

Still, it was not that there was no harvest at all.

The Turtle Breathing Art was a secret technique that made it possible to control even the involuntary muscles of the body—meaning, things like the heart—and was a martial art of concealing one’s presence by turning like a corpse.

‘If combined with the Breath Concealing Art, my stealth capability will become stronger.’

Jin So-myeong, who obtained a decent martial art, nodded.

“I will buy them all. How many spirit stones should I give you?”

“To be honest, it is not some high-grade immortal art… just give me five spirit stones.”

A smile came out of its own accord at the price that was much cheaper than expected.

As expected, although it might not be so to others, to him, martial arts were no different from a treasure house.

Without a word of complaint, Jin So-myeong paid the spirit stones and returned to his cave dwelling.

This was to combine the Breath Concealing Art and the Turtle Breathing Art to grow his stealth capability.

***

Thanks to the time that flew like an arrow, a month passed before he knew it.

The date promised with Beom Chang had arrived.

Early morning.

Jin So-myeong, who harvested the fully grown spiritual rice from the backyard of his cave dwelling, stared at the empty field.

‘…Now, for the time being, I won’t have any reason to come here.’

He swept his eyes all over the Rank 1 mid-grade cave dwelling where he had stayed for a while, and then shook his head.

Although it was a bit regrettable, he could not keep living here. To go to a better place, he also had to know how to leave.

Swish.

He left the cave dwelling just like that and sent a letter to Deacon Ju Hong.

This was to return the plaque that managed the cave dwelling’s formations, and to pay two months’ worth of rent.

‘Since I agreed to tell him two months before leaving. I should keep the promise.’

Jin So-myeong also had his own line.

That was precisely, to someone who had not caused him harm, he also did not cause trouble.

After sending the letter through a courier agency.

Without hesitation, he walked along the main road toward the Red Yang Sect.

He did not stop until he arrived in front of the grand main gate where a mountain range wrapped in flames was carved.

At that moment when Jin So-myeong walked toward the entrance.

“Wait! Stop and do not approach further. Who are you, and where did you come from!”

The gatekeeper reacted sensitively. Gripping the spear-shaped dharma treasure tightly, he stood on guard against him.

It was a scene that felt like déjà vu for some reason, but this gatekeeper was not Beom Chang.

He was a mid-stage Qi Condensation cultivator he had never seen before. Since there was no reason to pick a fight, he greeted politely.

“Senior. I am a rogue cultivator named Jin So-myeong.”

Was it thanks to his polite attitude? The gatekeeper’s wariness subsided instantly.

“Jin So-myeong? You seem to be someone I am meeting for the first time, but for what business did you visit the Red Yang Sect?”

Jin So-myeong’s face darkened at the reaction that seemed filled with wonder.

‘Tsk. That damn fellow didn’t handle the work properly.’

To think he did not even say a word to the gatekeeper when today is clearly the promised date.

The basics were not even set properly. It felt like he needed to pick a day and educate him soon.

Clicking his tongue inwardly, he spoke in a still polite attitude.

“I came here because I promised to meet one of the disciples of the Red Yang Sect today.”

“I see. If you tell me who it is, I will send word.”

“Beom Chang.”

“Yes? Who did you say?”

“…I promised to meet Senior Beom Chang, though?”

“Is, is that certain? Do you perhaps carry a token of promise?”

His brow furrowed at the reaction that seemed frightened for some reason.

“I do not have one. It is just sending word, so what token is needed for that?”

“Well… Senior Brother Beom Chang dislikes having his cultivation disturbed extremely under normal circumstances. If it is not certain, it is a bit difficult to disturb him…”

To think he hesitated this much over just delivering news.

He felt like he knew how much that damn bastard usually committed atrocities.

“Whew. Just call him. If Senior Beom Chang gets angry, you can just shift all the blame onto me, right?”

“Ugh! It is because that won’t work that I am acting like this… He will definitely say something to me as well.”

The gatekeeper trembled all over as if getting goosebumps. It was an attitude of not wanting to be associated with anything related to Beom Chang.

It was also awkward to force him to make contact, making it difficult.

At that moment when Jin So-myeong let out a sigh.

Creak!

Beside the grand main gate, a human-sized side door opened and someone walked out.

“Oh? Senior Brother Beom Chang! You have come just at the right time. There is someone here who has come looking for you!”

The gatekeeper’s expression brightened instantly, his joy at the difficult matter being resolved very obvious.

However, contrary to him, Beom Chang’s expression was rotting.

He wore a grimace as if he had eaten feces. How much he disliked coming to this place was clearly revealed.

Beom Chang, who gritted his teeth, forced the corners of his mouth up and spoke.

“Brother Jin. Have you come?”

“Yes. It has been a while.”

“Haa… Why did you not just enter if you arrived? I came out after waiting in the reception room in case our paths crossed, so do not make strange misunderstandings for no reason.”

“Gasp!”

The moment Beom Chang’s words ended. The expression of the gatekeeper standing on one side with his presence killed turned pale.

Seeing that appearance, Beom Chang narrowed his eyes.

Wrinkling his already rotting face violently, he growled.

“Could it be that you fellow made my brother wait outside?”

“Th-That…”

“You dare mistreat my guest? I must check with what confidence you did that!”

Eyes bloodshot, Beom Chang bared his fangs.

He seemed in a mood to vent his shitty feeling of becoming a slave on the gatekeeper.

There was no way that sight looked good.

Jin So-myeong, who frowned, opened his mouth.

“Brother. Let us just enter. Isn’t today the joyful day I enter the Red Yang Sect?”

“…Alright. If it is my brother’s words, I must listen to them all. Hahaha! Let us go!”

Leaving behind the gatekeeper who bowed his head deeply in gratitude, he entered the inside of the Red Yang Sect with Beom Chang.

The moment they were left alone, Jin So-myeong’s tone changed completely.

“Hey, brother. The gatekeeper doesn’t even know my name; how on earth did you handle the work? I must have told you to prepare properly? Can I trust you?”

“…Do not worry. I did it sloppily like this on purpose. Only when I act according to my usual behavior will no one suspect.”

“Tsk. I will watch.”

In fact, although he could neither lie to him nor harbor malice because of the contract, he went out of his way to say a word.

It meant he should handle the work with more care in the future.

Beom Chang, who took on a bizarre expression that could neither get angry nor laugh, barely nodded his head.

“Yes. Brother. Let us go. To enter the Red Yang Sect, one must register one’s name at the Hall of Merits first.”

Like a servant, Beom Chang, who volunteered to be a guide, led him to a two-story pavilion.

Simultaneously with entering the entrance.

Disciples moving busily were visible.

One of them, a disciple who was processing a stack of papers piled like a mountain, faltered.

The moment he raised his head slowly and met Beom Chang’s gaze.

He jumped up, startled out of his wits.

“I-I greet Senior Brother Beom!”

“Mmh.”

Unlike when they were alone, Beom Chang, who threw his shoulders back and stood proudly as he received the greeting, gestured with his chin with a glance.

“Do you see Brother Jin behind me here? He says he wants to enter the Red Yang Sect, so handle it on your own.”

“Yes! I will process it immediately.”

The disciple, who threw away all the papers piled like a mountain, immediately followed the instruction, and the disciples who were reading the room nearby slipped away one by one.

“Ahem. Daoist friend behind. What is your name?”

“Jin So-myeong.”

“Jin So-myeong. Good. Age and cultivation realm?”

“I am sixteen, and at the 3rd layer of Qi Condensation.”

“Oh…! You are great at such a young age. I envy you.”

Even though he spoke lowering it by one stage on purpose, admiration returned.

That was how fast his cultivation speed, which received help from the Secret Realm of the Mind, was.

“Where is your hometown?”

“I have lived in Red Yang Market since childhood, so I do not know well. I was an orphan.”

“I see. Then we will record that there are no blood ties related to the cultivation world.”

The disciple, who was writing down the personal details, nodded his head.

“Since you did not come from another market, there is nothing that will be a problem. I will put your name on the disciple roster immediately.”

The disciple, who was slily reading the room, approached Beom Chang.

He whispered so softly that it would not have been heard if Jin So-myeong did not possess sensitive senses.

“Senior Brother. What about status? Should we put him as a miscellaneous labor disciple as usual?”

Instantly, Jin So-myeong and Beom Chang’s gazes met.

Just as his brow was about to furrow minutely, Beom Chang, startled, shouted loudly.

“You fellow! What nonsense! Speak loudly instead of whispering like a petty thief! And did I not say that Brother Jin is my brother? Naturally, we must give him the highest-grade treatment!”

“Th-The highest-grade? Could you be speaking of an inner disciple?”

In any sect, inner disciples were the core members.

Rather than laborers who were just discarded after sucking resources, they were the true pillars and foundations.

The Red Yang Sect, which started from a league of rogue cultivators, was the same.

It was natural that the disciple handling the duties was flustered. However, Beom Chang was obstinate.

“Have you forgotten that my uncle is a Foundation Establishment elder? If it is my recommendation, even an inner disciple is possible!”

“Ugh… Haa. Understood. With your status, Senior Brother, there is nothing that cannot be done.”

The disciple, who gave a bitter smile as if tired, spoke to Jin So-myeong.

“All inner disciples must establish a basic soul contract. They must also offer a Soul Tablet containing a part of their divine soul. Are you ready?”

Even before the disciple’s words fully finished, Beom Chang cut in.

“Tsk! I handled such things myself, so pay no mind.”

“Ah… you already did.”

“Yes. Leave things like contracts alone and hand over the Identity Token quickly! I am busy.”

Instantly, the look in the eyes of the disciple who glanced at Jin So-myeong turned pitying. He felt sympathy as if looking at a fool who had been swindled.

The hesitating disciple spoke.

“Well… Senior Brother Beom.”

“Hmm?”

“If it is known that you entered into a private contract again, Senior Brother, the elders will dislike it.”

“Hmph! If only you keep your mouth shut, who would know! Surely you don’t intend to go around blabbing?”

“O-Of course not.”

“Good, I will trust you. And even if there is a scolding from the elders, I am the one getting scolded, so do not concern yourself!”

“…Understood. I will handle minor follow-ups on my own.”

“Hmph. Naturally you should. Only now do you understand my words.”

“You said the newly arrived junior brother’s name is Jin So-myeong, right? Please wait a moment. I will construct the Identity Token immediately.”

How long did they wait?

The disciple, who went outside for a moment, hurriedly ran in.

“Pant, pant.”

At the sight of him rushing to the point of his breath growing rough, he felt like telling him to take it slowly.

“Junior Brother Jin. Here is your Identity Token. The procedure to re-issue it is complex, so keep it well.”

“Thank you.”

“Now we must assign your personal cave dwelling… I will recommend the best place possible.”

Sure enough. Just by acting obstinately, everything was resolved in a flash.

It was to the extent that satisfaction welled up inside Jin So-myeong’s heart as he watched from behind.

‘This is it.’

There was a reward for capturing Beom Chang with difficulty.

He felt like he was receiving proper compensation for all the hardships suffered so far.