Chapter 55 – Lightning Escape Art

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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 flew through the dense forest all day, furrowed his brows.

‘There is no trace of people.’

It was literally a jungle.

The leaves were so lush that light did not enter well. It was to the extent that the sky was not visible even if he raised his head.

The vegetation was also unique.

It was filled with vines and insects he saw for the first time, giving off a strong exotic feeling.

Swish!

Flying high into the sky, he scanned all directions. Looking east, west, south, and north, it was filled only with green.

A sea made of plants. He was on the verge of getting sick of the endlessly unfolding sea of trees.

‘Is it because the spiritual Qi is thin? I don’t even see any demonic beasts.’

After contemplating for a moment, he picked a direction. He moved for almost another half a day, but…

it was still the same.

The only thing visible was the dense jungle.

‘Sigh. What kind of hardship is this because of that son of a bitch, the Young Master. Just wait until I return…’

Suddenly, he was curious about the reason Hong Seol had let that fellow live. Cutting down even a Rank 3 in a single strike, why?

‘Surely it isn’t because I said I would definitely kill him?’

If so, she had a personality with absolutely no flexibility.

In the first place, that declaration was merely a tactic to kill the old man who practiced the tracking art.

‘…No.’

Since things had turned out this way, keeping the words he had spoken was not bad either.

Imagining returning after achieving Core Formation and slashing the fellow in a single blow, he felt incredibly refreshed.

Fingering his sword out of habit, he paused.

Recalling his master… no, Hong Seol, only a bitter smile came out. Thinking about it, she had not even taken the scabbard.

‘Will I be able to meet her again?’

If that time came.

Should he return the scabbard to her, or should he receive the Limitless Divine Sword back…

Flying all day, all kinds of thoughts came to mind.

Jin So-myeong, who chuckled and shook his head, paused.

It was because far away, at the edge of his vision, a city wall was visible.

‘Finally!’

A structure clearly built by people appeared.

Although he was happy, he did not let his guard down.

Frowning, he approached cautiously while concealing his presence as much as possible.

‘There’s nobody?’

The city wall was large enough to be compared with Azure Elixir City, but there was not a single person.

It was an abandoned city.

Looking at the weeds, vines, and layers of dust, it seemed nobody had visited for at least a hundred years.

Anyway…

Something was strange.

‘To build such a large castle in a place with no spiritual vein?’

The more he thought about it, the stranger it was.

Although the formation was ruined long ago, judging by the form of the remaining city walls, it was clearly a city of cultivators.

Jin So-myeong, who entered the empty city with caution, roamed around for a long while.

The more he investigated, the clearer it became. This castle was indeed abandoned.

‘…Let’s leave for now.’

Leaving the uneasy feeling behind, he flew through the sky.

Just how far did he travel? Similar cities continued after that.

There were no people, only buildings filling the space.

“Mmm.”

Jin So-myeong, who massaged his shoulders, eventually stopped. Flying using spiritual power for several days had made him tired.

He did not know how much further he had to fly to meet people.

This world was too wide. According to Jin So-myeong’s estimate, it was at least dozens of times larger than Earth.

To be lost without a map in such a bizarre jungle.

‘This won’t do. I must practice a proper flying art first.’

Jin So-myeong, who landed on the ground, dug a cave with Sword Qi to make a secret room.

It was to practice the Heavenly Thunder Dao Body Art to the mastery stage and learn the Lightning Escape Art.

If he only learned the Lightning Escape Art that allowed him to move by riding lightning, he would become several times faster than now.

While other cultivators could not practice in a place like this with no spiritual vein, it did not matter to Jin So-myeong.

Thanks to the Secret Realm of the Mind, cultivation was possible anywhere.

‘Just how much was left until the mastery stage.’

【Cultivation Method】

…

Heavenly Thunder Dao Body Art (Beginner 15180 / 20000)

Checking the status window, roughly only five thousand remained.

He thought about why the mastery had risen this much, and the reason was only one: it grew rapidly thanks to handling lightning by burning his lifespan.

Since the Supreme Great Ability had increased to 1,500 upon becoming Foundation Establishment 2nd layer, at latest four months would be sufficient.

***

Four months later, in a certain jungle.

Rumble!

Lightning struck in the clear sky.

Within the bright yellow lightning that struck the earth, Jin So-myeong appeared, wearing the empty scabbard at his waist.

“Whew. I finally learned it.”

As the Heavenly Thunder Dao Body Art reached the mastery stage, he entered the Lightning Escape Art.

Since he had become able to move by riding lightning, hope arose that he could escape from this tedious jungle!

Snap!

When he snapped his fingers, lightning struck from the air, and his figure, which vanished in a flash, appeared a hundred meters away.

It was faster than blinking an eye.

Because it was a speed almost close to teleportation, he was highly satisfied.

‘Indeed, it is worthy of the Lightning Escape Art famous for its swiftness.’

If there were disadvantages, it was that it was slightly noisy and the spiritual power consumption was heavy.

Rumble!

Simultaneously with the lightning that shot from his fingertips, his figure traversed the sky like a meteor.

Of course, it was not as fast as actual light. It had to be at a level controllable by spiritual power and Divine Sense.

Still, it was sufficient at the Foundation Establishment level.

He had become four to five times faster compared to before. Right now, he could easily escape a Thousand Corpses Sect siege network.

‘Except for Rank 3, that is…’

Suddenly, impatience welled up.

He wanted to quickly break through to Core Formation and decapitate that damn Young Master.

If there was something he wanted even more than that, it was meeting Hong Seol again.

He wanted to learn sword arts, and if possible, he also wanted to help her, who seemed to be in a difficult situation.

Boom!

Jin So-myeong, who was having distracting thoughts for a moment, concentrated on the Lightning Escape Art.

He wanted to go to a city with cultivators as quickly as possible.

Actually, since he also had the Secret Realm of the Mind, he wondered if he could just practice alone, but it was a delusion.

First of all, the lack of safety was a major factor. Maintaining vigilance at all times made him too tired.

The cultivation medicinal pills he had purchased in Azure Elixir City would also be depleted before long.

‘If I practice in this kind of jungle with no spiritual vein, I won’t be able to achieve Core Formation even if it takes two hundred years.’

At any rate, since he had learned the Lightning Escape Art now, escaping the jungle would have become easier.

He picked one direction and went straight.

Just how many days did he fly through the endlessly unfolding jungle?

“…Salt smell?”

A salty energy was felt from the wind that grazed the tip of his nose.

Jin So-myeong, who furrowed his brows, increased his speed. It was because a thought of “could it be” arose.

Sssss…

Along with the faintly heard sound of waves, a fishy smell of the sea drifted strongly.

He could only admit it after seeing the open blue waves.

‘It wasn’t a jungle, but an island.’

He had thought it was a continent because the forest was so wide, but looking at it now, it was merely an uninhabited island in the middle of the sea.

Jin So-myeong, who stared beyond the horizon, nodded his head.

‘Let’s go.’

Just how far did he fly over the ocean, which was quiet to a chilling degree?

Seeing the same scenery with no changes continuously, he even worried whether he was circling in place.

Beyond impatience, he was gradually growing anxious.

‘Should I turn back even now?’

If he had picked the wrong direction, it would be trouble. With bad luck, he might truly get stranded in the middle of the sea and die.

How to do it was under contemplation when,

Ahhh!

The human voice heard after a long time was incredibly welcome. It was so even though it was a scream.

After habitually guarding the surroundings,

Swish!

he transformed his appearance using the Thousand Transformations Art and approached quietly. Infusing spiritual power into his eyes, he scanned near the horizon.

‘Two Qi Condensations.’

Grasping the situation was not difficult.

A man and a woman fleeing desperately, chased by a flock of about ten strange birds, were visible; since their faces looked alike, they appeared to be siblings.

Judging by their messy state covered in wounds, it seemed they would not survive if left alone.

No. They were just on the verge of death.

“Brother!”

Simultaneously with the girl’s youthful scream,

the face of the young man, who blocked the strange birds from behind so his sister could escape, turned pale.

Skreee!

Chirp, chirp!

It was because the shield was shattered by the sharp wind sent by the leader strange bird.

“Ah…”

“No!”

Right before the talons that flew in succession pierced between his brows,

Rumble!!

a roaring sound rang out along with a dazzling flash.

The siblings, who closed their eyes without realizing it at the intense light, flinched.

When they shrugged their shoulders and opened their eyes again, the entire situation had finished.

It was because Jin So-myeong, who appeared with lightning, swept away the flock of strange birds.

The only thing remaining was the demonic beasts burnt like charcoal.

“…Ugh.”

The girl, who let out a strange sound, was startled.

Tapping the brother standing beside her with a dazed expression to give him a hint, she bowed her head sharply.

“Senior! Thank you for helping!”

“Ah… T-Thank you!”

Jin So-myeong chuckled.

It was because he heard a human voice after a long time—and a bright, energetic child’s voice at that.

Looking at the Qi Condensation cultivators bowing politely, one of the things he had inwardly worried about was resolved.

‘Fortunately, the language communicates.’

It was amazing that the language was intelligible in this place, which might be extremely far from Azure Elixir City, but it was not a coincidence.

It was because the laws of heaven and earth were contained within the characters and pronunciations used by cultivators.

Generally, it was understood regardless of race and country. Even if it was slightly different, it could be understood like a dialect.

“Senior. My brother standing here blankly is Seo Do-hyeon, and I am Seo Jin-ok.”

“Mmm.”

“Though we are insignificant now, we will surely repay the favor someday! What is your name?”

Jin So-myeong, who merely laughed at the girl’s bright, clear voice, paused.

Yeo Dong-bin? Jin So-myeong? Or another pseudonym? For some reason, he did not know what to reply.

“…Forget about the favor to be repaid later, just give me a map if you have one. I wish to go to the largest city nearby.”

“Ah! You wish to go to the Sky Island. Hm, hm. Brother, what are you doing standing there blankly? Hurry up and give the map to Senior.”

“Uh? Yes, I should.”

Where had the momentum of protecting his sister even at the risk of his life gone? The young man, who had become clumsy, took out a rolled map from his storage pouch.

Since it was not a jade slip, it could not be read in an instant.

Although it was slightly inconvenient, there was no problem in grasping his current position.

Coral Island, Green Jade Island, Beacon Fire Island…

At the moment when he was grasping the islands in the vicinity,

“Senior. We also happen to be on the way to Sky Island. Would you like to go together?”

“No. You are too slow, so it seems traveling together would be inconvenient.”

The corners of the girl’s mouth, which had drooped in disappointment, shot up.

It was due to Jin So-myeong’s subsequent words.

“Take the corpses of the Rank 1 demonic beasts if you need them. They are meaningless to me, who has already achieved Foundation Establishment.”

“Ah! Thank you!”

The faces of the siblings were filled with joy they could not hide.

It was because, in addition to escaping the crisis of death, they had obtained a large harvest.

*

Three days later.

Jin So-myeong, who arrived at Coral Island following the map, let out a sigh of relief.

It was because the girl had said that one could go to Sky Island from Coral Island.

After disguising his cultivation as the late Qi Condensation stage,

Jin So-myeong, who was looking around Coral Island, caressed his chin.

‘Is it roughly the level of Red Yang Market.’

Presumably, it seemed like an island managed by a Foundation Establishment force. It was too small for him, who had already achieved Foundation Establishment.

Since he wanted to go to a larger city good for cultivation, he grabbed a passing cultivator and asked.

“Fellow Daoist. I heard Sky Island is the largest city near here. How do I go?”

“Sky Island? It will come soon if you wait here.”

He asked politely, but a blunt reply returned.

Although the attitude was as if asking why he asked something obvious, he could not help but ask further.

“Do you mean a transport ship bound for Sky Island is coming? What is the cost to ride it?”

“Huh? What do you mean by a transport ship? I said they are coming soon?”

It felt like the conversation was going off track. It was something that happened because the common sense between them was different.

Just as Jin So-myeong, who furrowed his brows, was about to ask again,

“It is about time…”

“It’s here!”

Simultaneously with someone’s shout, the vicinity of the horizon grew dark. The pushing away of pure white clouds was unusual.

Just how many minutes had passed?

Something massive began to be visible.

‘…An island? An island is flying?’

An island called Sky Island, large enough to feel like a continent at first glance, approached across the sky.

At the dumbfounding sight, all questions completely vanished.

The meaning of coming soon was exactly as it was. There was absolutely no room for misunderstanding.

Rumble!

The ground had darkened before he knew it.

It was because a land mass huge enough to block the sun had settled in the sky along with clouds.