Chapter 75 – Kind Guidance
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Translated by Frog in the Well
Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net
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***
[Everyone reached by this voice transmission, gather at the South Gate.]
Hong Un-gwang, who had made up his mind to follow Jin So-myeong, swallowed hard.
From the very first mission handed down by the Red Blossom Unit, it was a headache.
‘There are as many as three Rank 2 high-grade demonic beasts? It is too dangerous…’
Hong Un-gwang glanced at his reaction.
He was curious about what Jin So-myeong would do after receiving the mission, and the fellow did not have a single hesitation.
He immediately flew in the direction of the South Gate.
“…Damn it.”
The hesitating Hong Un-gwang clenched his teeth and chased after Jin So-myeong.
It was because he intended to steal and learn the secret of Sword Qi by copying the fellow from one to ten.
‘Why is a fellow who is barely at the mid Foundation Establishment stage so fearless? Does he see nothing in his eyes just because he won the Ascending Immortal Tournament?’
Surely, is it because he has never met a high-grade demonic beast before, so he does not know how scary they are?
Hong Un-gwang, who let out a sigh, recalled the past.
He had been a promising sword cultivator during his Qi Condensation days.
Once he awakened Sword Qi, there was nothing to fear. After achieving Foundation Establishment by good luck, everything he did went well.
He enjoyed life, complaining that the world was narrow.
Around the time he became tired of hearing the word genius too often,
his Sword Qi began to grow blurry.
Why on earth?
Although he tried all kinds of methods, the Sword Qi that had once weakened did not return.
It was from then on. He increased his flying swords one by one.
Although it was a last resort to supplement his lacking combat power, the more he did so, the weaker his Sword Qi became.
It was as if he had taken a wrong turn and fallen into a quagmire.
On a day he was wasting time while floundering,
he watched the Ascending Immortal Tournament for a change of pace, and
he saw it.
The scene of a mere Foundation Establishment cultivator slicing through the gale raised by a Rank 3 Magic Treasure.
‘How?’
That scene, engraved like a brand, could absolutely not be forgotten. It was the same even after several years.
Was it because of that?
When he coincidentally ran into Jin So-myeong in the central square, he picked a fight without warning.
It was because he wanted to see that sword once more.
But he was ignored. Jin So-myeong left as if he were not even worth dealing with.
‘Ha.’
Although his pride was hurt, he could not give up.
If only he could revive his blurred Sword Qi, this level of humiliation was nothing.
He followed Jin So-myeong into the Red Blossom Unit, and searched the entire city wall to find him.
Thus currently,
Hong Un-gwang ended up following even to the dangerous mission of facing three Rank 2 high-grade demonic beasts…
‘I must be crazy.’
What on earth was Sword Qi? How many spells were there in the world? Even those who were not sword cultivators lived perfectly fine.
The moment he arrived at the South Gate while swearing all kinds of curses inside,
the gazes of about ten people gathered. Everyone alternated looking between Jin So-myeong and Hong Un-gwang in wonder.
“Mid Foundation Establishment?”
“Hmm…”
“In any case, since he has the qualification, they would have given him the Red Blossom Unit nameplate.”
Although they had a distrustful look, those gazes soon disappeared.
It was because someone who recognized Jin So-myeong as the winner of the Ascending Immortal Tournament advised them something.
Hong Un-gwang glanced to the side.
Although he might have felt bad, Jin So-myeong kept his arms crossed and did not make any response.
How long did they wait?
A cultivator belonging to the regular army of Filial Moon City appeared and nodded.
“Eleven people? Good. Fortunately, the number is sufficient. For this mission only, I am your leader.”
At the words of the Red Blossom Unit Leader, the rogue cultivator with a bushy beard grimaced.
“Sufficient? Hey. Do you not see the demonic beasts scattered outside? You are telling us to break through that and kill the demonic beasts fifty li away?”
As if he did not hear the insolent words, the Red Blossom Unit Leader only said what he had to say.
“Since there are a few newcomers, I will explain. The mission rewards are paid as merit points according to individual contribution. You can exchange them for top-grade spiritual medicine, cultivation methods, and so on that are not sold on the market, so you will not feel it is a pity.”
“Hey. Can you not hear me? I am asking how we are to break through that horde of demonic beasts with barely eleven people—”
Just as the rogue cultivator whose face turned red shouted in a fury,
Rumble!
a massive energy condensed in the sky above Filial Moon City.
The artificial sun formed by the power of the formation grew continuously. The moment the compressed energy reached its peak,
Sssss!
a pillar of light carrying intense heat scraped through the earth.
Dozens of giant paths were created centered on Filial Moon City. The densely packed demonic beasts evaporated merely by touching the light.
“It is time. We depart.”
At the wide-open avenue toward the southeast direction, the rogue cultivator who was shouting about how to break through became as mute as a fish.
Whoosh!
With the Red Blossom Unit Leader in the lead, eleven cultivators including Hong Un-gwang and Jin So-myeong flew through the sky.
“Never stop! If we are surrounded, it is the end!”
They moved through the path opened by the formation, and naturally, numerous demonic beasts interfered.
Slash!
Hong Un-gwang flew his flying swords. Slicing through the demonic beasts that appeared one by one to block the path, he quickly scanned the surroundings.
All eleven members of the Red Blossom Unit were advancing while desperately killing demonic beasts, but only a single person was different.
Jin So-myeong.
He was as relaxed as if he had come out for a walk.
The moment he felt the sword move, the heads of the surrounding demonic beasts dropped with a thud.
‘…I cannot see it.’
Swinging the sword to strike the neck. It felt as if the intermediate process in the extremely simple action was omitted.
– Awoooo!
A wolf that rushed in fast enough that only its afterimage was visible collapsed with a thud.
Looking at the head that had vanished before he knew it, he felt like he was dreaming.
‘A monster. That is the same Foundation Establishment as me?’
Whether Rank 1 or Rank 2, it was all the same. They could not withstand a single swing of Jin So-myeong’s sword.
Watching as if possessed, Hong Un-gwang tried swinging his sword following Jin So-myeong, but…
Clang!
it was futile. It was blocked by a crab demonic beast, the Black-Armored Crab.
In the end, he was able to shake it off only after pouring out all twelve of his flying swords and even casting a fire-attribute spell.
The mission location reached after twists and turns.
“Pant… pant… it is damn exhausting.”
Everyone’s breathing grew rough.
Except for Jin So-myeong, who was shaking off blood droplets stained on his sword with a serene face.
“Damn it. I am worried about when we return.”
“Let’s finish the mission first.”
When the Red Blossom Unit Leader gestured, gazes gathered.
In the center of the village that had already turned into ruins, a bizarre existence was present.
A wriggling polyhedron, which seemed to be made by forcibly compressing lumps of flesh, floated in the empty air.
“It is a demonic beast I am seeing for the first time.”
“It is a bit disgusting. Just how many eyes are there? There are more than ten.”
“Late Foundation Establishment-grade… although we do not know where the other two are, let’s dispose of it first.”
Just as the cultivators took a step forward,
“An Array Eye Beast ?”
At the murmuring of a white-robed cultivator who tied his hair neatly, the Red Blossom Unit Leader furrowed his brows.
“Do you know what kind of demonic beast it is?”
“Wait a moment. Where did I see that…”
The white-robed cultivator, who carried a strong scholar atmosphere, took out a jade slip from his storage pouch.
Focusing it against his forehead was a posture as if searching through a demonic beast dictionary.
“Damn it. What nonsense are you doing on the battlefield! We just need to kill it!”
The rogue cultivator with a bushy beard threw his axe before anyone could stop him.
Whish!
Each time the palm-sized axe rotated, it grew rapidly.
The moment it became larger than a building and sliced the bizarre lump of flesh called the Array Eye Beast,
the white-robed scholar who was examining the jade slip turned pale as if he had found out something.
“N-No! Everyone, retreat immediately!”
He shouted urgently, but it was already too late.
Boom!
A radius of three hundred zhang was blocked by a barrier.
From thick toxic fog, gray wind where ghost illusions wavered, to a blazing pillar of fire.
All kinds of bizarre disasters divided the inside and outside. So that no one could escape this place.
“The Array Eye Beast is a mutant demonic beast that feeds on formations. Although it is very weak, when it dies, it explodes all the formations it has consumed so far…”
Just as the Red Blossom Unit Leader’s face darkened at the despair-filled explanation,
Rumble… Boom!
the earth shook and surged up as if exploding.
A giant body was visible between the scattering dust. Although it looked like a magnified snake at first glance, it was far too large.
A monster whose height alone exceeded a hundred zhang blocked the sun and looked down on them.
– Sssshhh.
At the sound carrying a strange melody, his vision distorted.
At the too overwhelming size, even the rogue cultivator who had confidently thrown his axe recoiled in hesitation.
“Crazy! That is Rank 2? No way… something is wrong!”
“V-Vein-Seeking Earth Dragon!”
They were terrified.
To be honest, it was the same for Hong Un-gwang. However, rather than retreating, he turned his gaze.
It was because he was curious about how Jin So-myeong would respond in this kind of situation.
‘Ah…’
It was exactly the same as the beginning.
Seeing him resting his hand on the hilt of his sword with a calm expression, a strange courage, no, bravado, welled up.
Clang!
He drew and threw his swords. Twelve flying swords flew like lightning and dug into the upper body of the Vein-Seeking Earth Dragon.
He intended to pierce all the way to its heart in a single breath, but…
Thud!
the connection to the flying swords that dug into the flesh was severed.
The flying swords shot by Hong Un-gwang were no different from small thorns compared to the giant body of the Vein-Seeking Earth Dragon.
“Cough!”
Just as he vomited blood as the price of losing his dharma treasures,
“Hey.”
Jin So-myeong’s voice was heard. He was not calling him.
He spoke to the white-robed scholar who was standing with an expression as if he were about to cry.
“Can I cut that?”
“…Yes?”
“Just say if it is allowed or not.”
The white-robed scholar, who blinked his eyes, nodded his head fast enough to make whishing wind sounds.
“O-Of course it is.”
Shring…
The slowly drawn blade reflected the sunlight. Simultaneously with the silver-flashing blade being fully revealed,
his gaze was stolen by the vivid shimmer flowing along the blade.
His skin tingled. It felt as if his soul was being sliced merely by looking.
Although he could absolutely not look straight because his eyes ached, just as he forced his eyes open,
Slice!
a single cutting sound sliced not only the Vein-Seeking Earth Dragon but also the formation.
Even a leopard that was hiding in the shadow and aiming for an opportunity lost its life…
Any plans and traps were meaningless in front of overwhelming strength.
***
The moment Jin So-myeong, who delivered the slash, sheathed his sword,
Thud!
the earth shook as the vertically split Vein-Seeking Earth Dragon collapsed.
Scattering the suddenly rising dust by generating wind, he turned his gaze.
He asked the Red Blossom Unit Leader, who was standing like a broken doll.
“How do we divide the demonic beast byproducts?”
“…T-That is, of course, they must be taken according to contribution. Please pack as much as you want, Senior.”
“Senior? I am still only at the mid Foundation Establishment stage, though.”
“Haha. What does that matter?”
“Hmm…”
Jin So-myeong, who shrugged his shoulders, packed the leopard demonic beast that died while trying to launch a surprise attack from hiding first.
Afterwards, he cut open the giant snake with his Sword Qi. Since it was his first time catching such a huge one, he was curious if there would be an inner core.
‘It is here.’
Packing the dark brown bead, he took out the flying swords buried in the flesh.
Just as he returned them to Hong Un-gwang with the wind raised by the Wind Control Art,
the fellow who was staring blankly suddenly walked over step by step and offered a heavy pouch.
“Hmm?”
Scanning the inside of the pouch with his Divine Sense, he saw approximately 1,700 mid-grade spirit stones.
“It is all I have. Although it is far from enough… could you not tell me even a part of the secret? I will make up for the shortage somehow.”
Hong Un-gwang, who spoke so, bowed his head.
Seeing the sword cultivator who offered his entire fortune to beg for guidance, a whim suddenly arose.
“Fine. If you want it that much, I will tell you. However, as I said, this secret will be quite expensive.”
“…For the lacking spirit stones, I will hunt demonic beasts to—”
He waved his hand to cut off his words. He was not talking about that kind of price.
“The method to sharpen Sword Qi, you see…”
In an instant,
he felt everyone in the Red Blossom Unit focusing.
Even those who were not sword cultivators were curious about the secret.
“It is simpler than you think.”
Speaking gradually softer, he gestured for Hong Un-gwang to come closer.
The moment the fellow approached with a face filled with question,
“W-What!”
he grabbed him tightly by the scruff of his neck. The panicked Hong Un-gwang tried to escape, but he did not let go.
Exerting all of his physical strength that had reached the top level of Rank 2,
“Arrrgh?! You son of a bitch, what are you do—”
he threw him right into the middle of the demonic beast horde that had gathered before he knew it.
Panic and question. And fear.
The scream condensed with all kinds of emotions was buried among the demonic beasts.
“If you survive there, you will naturally come to know.”
Then who told him to draw his sword at their first meeting? He had no intention of giving kind guidance to such an obnoxious fellow.
‘Still, I gave him an opportunity.’
Simultaneously with Hong Un-gwang being covered by the large beasts,
Slash!
twelve flying swords scattered in all directions slaughtered the demonic beasts.
Against the constantly surging demonic beasts, Hong Un-gwang resisted desperately.
“S-Save me! Uh-uh?! B-Brother! Save me!”
Looking at the fellow fighting while rolling around on the ground, he kicked off the ground.
Slice!
He struck off the neck of the demonic beast that was striking down on Hong Un-gwang’s spine with its claws.
Since he received his entire fortune, he should do his share, shouldn’t he? At least, he had no intention of letting him die.