WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: DereKimchi
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◈ Carefree Tale of Cultivation ◈
Chapter 10: Sameung Market (1)
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“Brother Jin, it's been a while!”
When Jin Hyeon opened the entrance to his cave dwelling, Won Hyu, dressed in Hundred Treasures Pavilion's white uniform, greeted him.
They had shared drinks only a few days ago, yet Won Hyu casually claimed it had been a while. Jin Hyeon let out a faint laugh.
“Right. So what brings you here today?”
“Have you heard about the disciple tournament being held this time, Brother?”
A disciple tournament?
He had not heard of it, but he could guess its nature from the name.
“Is the sect holding a friendly competition?”
“Yes! It is much earlier than the usual tournament period, but they say there will be a competition among Qi Refining disciples next month.”
Jin Hyeon had yet to hear such news within the sect, but he did not doubt Won Hyu.
Won Hyu handled odd jobs at Hundred Treasures Pavilion and made the most of his contact with many disciples, bringing all sorts of news whenever they gathered.
“But why is it being held so suddenly, only a month from now?”
According to what Jin Hyeon had heard from his seniors, whenever the sect held an event, it was usually announced at least several months in advance, or even years ahead.
Cultivators perceived time differently from mortals, so most matters operated on a much larger timescale.
Yet they were only beginning to announce a tournament for the entire sect one month beforehand?
“Ah, I found that strange too, so I looked into it. Apparently, a Foundation Establishment Martial Uncle decided to provide the tournament's main prize, and they insisted on holding it early.”
“A Foundation Establishment Martial Uncle? What's the main prize?”
“I heard it will be a customized high-grade magical artifact, made according to the winning disciple's request.”
A high-grade magical artifact.
Jin Hyeon was slightly surprised by the greater prize than he had expected.
Unlike low-grade and mid-grade magical artifacts, high-grade ones held considerable value.
Cultivators in late Qi Refining usually used them, but even Foundation Establishment cultivators without much spiritual qi primarily used high-grade magical artifacts. Their quality was entirely different from ordinary artifacts.
If his Scorching Sun Sword clashed with a high-grade magical artifact, it would probably break within a few exchanges.
And this was a customized high-grade magical artifact made by a Foundation Establishment Martial Uncle. In spirit stones alone, it might be worth several hundred.
However, his brief excitement quickly cooled.
“Even so, it'll be a feast for Senior Brothers in late Qi Refining. If we enter, we'll just be eliminated right away, won't we?”
No matter how he used his ability, reaching late Qi Refining within a month was impossible.
Having seen Myeong Seokho's abilities at the twelfth layer of Qi Refining, Jin Hyeon knew full well that he could not defeat someone in late Qi Refining.
“What? No, Qi Refining disciples will compete separately according to their minor realm. There will be one winner from each realm.”
“What? Then every realm's winner receives a high-grade magical artifact?”
Won Hyu nodded firmly.
They would choose three winners and make each of them a custom artifact. Just which Foundation Establishment Martial Uncle was offering such generous prizes?
Could it be Martial Uncle Ha?
A middle-aged scholar in robes, forever shut away in a cave dwelling and struggling with earthfire, came to Jin Hyeon's mind.
He was so devoted to artifact refinement that he would not find making magical artifacts particularly difficult. Given that Martial Uncle Ha was in late Foundation Establishment and even a candidate for Core Formation, it was understandable that the tournament's rules could be altered a little.
Jin Hyeon decided to ask Myeong Seokho when he had time.
His interest in the tournament surged. If mid Qi Refining disciples competed separately, he could not say he had no chance.
Moreover, if he became proficient in several spells recorded in the Azure Thunder Soul-Carving Art, he might gain an advantage over disciples still limited to basic Five Phases spells.
Jin Hyeon briefly lost himself in happy thoughts before noticing Won Hyu still beaming at him.
“So, I doubt you came just to tell me this.”
“Haha, Brother Jin really is perceptive!”
Won Hyu thumped his chest.
“I believe that if Brother Jin enters, you'll definitely win! Still, you'd feel better entering the tournament after preparing thoroughly, so I'll help you.”
Jin Hyeon tilted his head. Help him?
At his reaction, Won Hyu clasped his hands together and made an offer in a gentle voice.
“I'll wish for Brother Jin's victory by offering a spirit stone loan at the lowest interest rate in the sect.”
“...”
The line sounded as though it had followed him from his previous life, leaving Jin Hyeon speechless.
* * *
About two weeks after Won Hyu's visit.
Chirp!
Something flying toward the lower reaches of the Cheongyu Mountain Range scattered a flock of passing birds.
The silver-shining object resembled a giant swallow, with a platform large enough for one person mounted on its back.
And standing atop that platform, steady despite the fierce wind, was a boy.
“Ptooey. I'm still not used to high speeds.”
Jin Hyeon spat out a feather stuck to his lips and slightly slowed the Silver Swallow Board.
The Silver Swallow Board was a flying magical artifact he had bought from Hundred Treasures Pavilion. He had used it frequently while traveling around the sect.
Though he was familiar with it, this was his first long-distance flight. The moment his excitement made him increase its speed, he had an accident.
Unable to help it, Jin Hyeon decided to fly slowly for the rest of the journey.
He was currently heading for a cultivation market near Blue Willow Sect.
Sameung Market, south of the Cheongyu Mountain Range, was run by independent cultivators without a sect. Its master, Perfected Sameung, was a powerful cultivator who had reached the Core Formation stage.
Thanks to Perfected Sameung' prestige, Sameung Market had become a massive center of trade where countless independent cultivators and disciples from nearby sects gathered to buy and sell goods. Blue Willow Sect disciples also made this their first stop whenever they visited a market.
Naturally, Jin Hyeon was going to Sameung Market to prepare for the disciple tournament he had recently learned about.
The goods sold at Hundred Treasures Pavilion within the sect were too ordinary. He intended to look through the market, where all kinds of items gathered, and find something useful.
He had even borrowed fifty spirit stones from Won Hyu Money, so Jin Hyeon vowed to find something useful and win the disciple tournament.
The winner would also receive a certain amount of spirit stones and medicinal pills, so he could repay the debt with those.
If he did not win... well, he could use two months' wages from Azure Forge Pavilion to cover it.
Jin Hyeon continued piloting the Silver Swallow Board while entertaining one stray thought after another.
After flying continuously for around three hours, the terrain gradually flattened, and Jin Hyeon finally saw a broad plain for the first time in a long while.
He also spotted an enormous fortress rising there.
The wide stone walls surrounded countless buildings.
There were splendid pavilions nearly ten stories tall, small wooden shops, and stalls of every size lining the streets.
Judging by its size alone, it was closer to a city than a market.
Awed by the sight, Jin Hyeon lowered the Silver Swallow Board's altitude.
His sect was surely larger, but because Blue Willow Sect was spread widely across the Cheongyu Mountain Range, its scale was difficult to grasp.
As he descended, Jin Hyeon saw cultivators densely filling the market's streets and crowds passing through its four gates.
Their appearances were as varied as their numbers.
There were several cultivators dressed in Blue Willow Sect attire like his own, along with many independent cultivators in worn or poor-quality dharma robes.
There were groups who seemed to belong to other cultivation sects, and even merchant caravans of mortals who appeared to possess no spiritual power.
Taking in every part of the scene, Jin Hyeon arrived before the market's eastern gate.
Above it hung a giant plaque made of some golden material Jin Hyeon did not recognize, engraved with the words “Three Eagles.”
Marveling that a large market even used such unusual material for its plaque, Jin Hyeon landed and put away the Silver Swallow Board.
Just then, three cultivators standing before him passed the gatekeepers and entered the market.
Jin Hyeon immediately approached the two gatekeepers standing in front of the gate.
But the instant he drew near, he felt something sweep over his body, and he stopped at once.
The force examining him was divine sense.
Divine sense was a kind of expanded mental ability cultivators gained after reaching Foundation Establishment.
It was the greatest dividing line between Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment, going a step beyond a cultivator's spiritual perception, which merely sensed spiritual qi and spiritual power.
Martial Uncle Ha had extended divine sense to issue him instructions while sending him on errands before, so despite still being in the Qi Refining stage, Jin Hyeon could recognize divine sense to some extent.
Naturally, he could neither use it nor properly sense it. But when someone openly examined him as they were now, he could feel it.
‘And if that is divine sense, it means those two are Foundation Establishment cultivators.’
Jin Hyeon watched the gatekeepers with a slightly tense gaze.
The two sturdily built men wrapped in black robes said nothing for some time.
After the silence continued for a while, the man standing on the right gestured at Jin Hyeon.
“You are a Blue Willow Sect disciple, aren't you? What are you standing there blankly for? Take out your identity token.”
With an “Ah,” Jin Hyeon pulled the metal token from his storage pouch.
It seemed he had become overly nervous because this was his first visit to a market. To think he had even forgotten something like this.
The gatekeeper scrutinized the token, then waved a hand behind him.
“Blue Willow Sect disciples do not need to pay an entrance fee. Go right in.”
“Yes, thank you, Senior.”
Jin Hyeon politely clasped his hands in salute, passed them, and went through the gate.
At times like this, the advantages of being a disciple from a major sect became tangible.
Once he finally entered the market, Jin Hyeon was captivated by a sight entirely different from what he had seen from the air.
Stalls lined both sides of the wide streets, while shops had built proper buildings behind them. It resembled a market in the mortal world, but its true nature was vastly different.
An elderly vendor seated behind a mat on the ground had laid out all kinds of spirit herbs and ores. There was red-barked grayleaf wood familiar to Jin Hyeon, as well as spirit herbs that served as ingredients for medicinal pills he had never seen before and ores used to strengthen magical artifacts.
At the stall opposite them, someone sold dumplings made from demon beast meat. Jin Hyeon did not know what kind of demon beast it came from, but the dumplings were popular.
Past the mouthwatering scent of steaming dumplings, there were small shops selling magical artifacts and places selling spirit beasts confined in tiny iron cages.
Jin Hyeon was startled when a rabbit-like spirit beast bared its fangs and hissed at him.
He could also see cultivators haggling with customers over various cultivation methods and Qi Refining cultivators loudly calling out while drawing talismans.
The sight reminded Jin Hyeon that, even if they bore the name cultivator, they were ultimately still human.
The tall pavilions casting their shadows over the streets welcomed cultivators who clearly came from powerful factions. Occasionally, he even saw Foundation Establishment cultivators.
Like a child visiting a massive supermarket for the first time, Jin Hyeon spent a long while looking around.
“Hmm... I think talismans are the right choice.”
Of course, he had not simply wandered about wasting time without purpose.
After looking over the goods mainly sold in the market, Jin Hyeon concluded that magical artifacts and talismans were the best options for rapidly improving his strength.
Spirit beasts were not easy to tame. He did not know how effective medicinal pills would be with his aptitude outside the Pitch-Black Space. And unusual secret arts or cultivation methods would take time to learn. Those two choices therefore seemed best.
Jin Hyeon first headed toward a street he had scouted out beforehand.
“Cultivation methods for sale! They contain practice methods from Qi Refining to Foundation Establishment! The mind-cultivating Tendon-Transforming Marrow-Cleansing Art of a_weary_cultivator! The best cultivation method for calming your mind!”
“Don't you want to become a monkey? If you want to learn monkey transformation, this Insect Awakening Secret Art...!”
Jin Hyeon broke into a sweat trying to shake off the cultivators attempting to draw in customers along the way.
Most of those who appeared to be independent cultivators had strength around early Qi Refining.
Watching them abandon even a cultivator's dignity to sell cultivation methods that were obviously fake made Jin Hyeon realize how difficult the lives of independent cultivators must be.
‘I should always be grateful to Uncle... The first sect I entered was a major sect, so I was spared that sort of life.’
After pushing through the independent cultivators' stalls, Jin Hyeon reached a street slightly wider than the others.
There were no signs or markers dividing it into sections, but every item sold there was a talisman.
Talismans were something Jin Hyeon had seen many times in his previous life.
He had never seen anyone like a shaman use one in person, but the concept was familiar because they appeared in so many forms of media.
The talismans here were not fundamentally different from those of his previous life.
They contained a desired effect in a piece of paper and were used at the desired moment.
The difference was that the talismans here were real, and they contained spells for use.
Jin Hyeon walked past a nearby mat, examining the talismans laid out upon it with interest.
Many first-tier talismans suited for the Qi Refining stage were being traded.
Talismans bearing basic spells such as the Fireball Art he knew, as well as all manner of spells he had yet to learn, were sold everywhere.
Their prices were even higher than he had expected.
Two spirit stones for just a few Fireball Art talismans.
But Jin Hyeon soon realized it was a reasonable price.
Though he had yet to experience it himself, cultivator battles unfolded very quickly, and properly allocating spiritual power was important.
Just as athletes in his previous life did not spend all their stamina at the beginning, they conserved it for emergencies.
The ability to trigger a talisman with a small amount of spiritual qi when spiritual power was low, or immediately release a powerful spell in a critical situation without needing time to prepare it, was an enormous advantage in battle or urgent circumstances.
Jin Hyeon visited talisman shops here and there and bought several useful-looking first-tier talismans.
Then one particular stall, crowded with quite a few people, caught his eye.
A gaunt, middle-aged woman cultivator in late Qi Refining had spread a mat in the street and was selling three talismans. All three contained advanced spells considered high-grade even among first-tier talismans.
Most of the gathered people apparently could not afford them and only examined the talismans with fascination.
Jin Hyeon's eyes lit up as he pointed to one of them.
“I'll buy this Water Dragon Bind talis...”
“This humble monk will take this Water Dragon Bind talisman...”
Startled by the person who abruptly cut in, Jin Hyeon turned toward the voice.
His eyes met those of a bald head staring right back at him.
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