WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: DereKimchi

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ Carefree Tale of Cultivation ◈

Chapter 18: Disciple Assembly (4)

──────

Jin Hyeon concentrated a large amount of spiritual power and condensed a spell art at his fingertips.

This was an offensive spell art from the Azure Thunder Soul-Carving Art that he had been able to learn after reaching five thunder marks, or the mid Qi Refining stage. Its name was Red Thunder Finger.

True to its name, Red Thunder Finger concentrated the thunder qi accumulated through thunder marks at the fingertips, producing crimson lightning. It boasted greater power and speed than the other lightning techniques he had learned.

Though it could be learned starting from the Qi Refining stage, the Azure Thunder Soul-Carving Art said that this spell had been created and personally named by someone who had reached the Nascent Soul stage. Its potential was therefore extremely high.

It consumed a great deal of spiritual power, but if this was not going to become a prolonged battle, it was better to attack aggressively.

Crimson lightning gathered rapidly around Jin Hyeon's fingertips with a menacing crackle, condensing around his hand.

Then, with a swift chopping motion, he fired the crimson lightning of Red Thunder Finger at Son Yu-seol.

Feeling that the spiritual power contained in the lightning was far deeper than expected, Son Yu-seol's smile vanished.

Before Red Thunder Finger could reach her, she immediately moved a crimson pearl in front of herself and poured spiritual power into it.

The pearl hummed faintly and released ripples that were difficult to see with the naked eye.

Though her magical artifact could block most mid Qi Refining stage spells, Son Yu-seol did not let down her guard. She prepared a talisman in her left hand.

Crack!

The lightning of Red Thunder Finger collided with the ripples released by the pearl.

The crimson current did not stop at the transparent barrier. Like spreading veins, it crawled across the barrier and eventually reached the pearl.

The lightning wrapped around the pearl and raged fiercely for a moment, but the pearl ultimately succeeded in blocking the attack.

Yet instead of rejoicing, Son Yu-seol frowned and retrieved the pearl.

Fine cracks covered its surface, and she could tell that the artifact's spiritual nature had also been considerably damaged.

It might be completely ruined if it took another attack.

Left with no choice, Son Yu-seol returned the magical artifact to her storage pouch.

Then, as she filled the Red Phoenix Cannon with spiritual power, she watched Jin Hyeon on the other side of the dueling platform gather crimson light at his fingertips as well.

The battle, with its exchange of powerful attacks, drew loud cheers from the surrounding disciples.

While other disciples normally saved such trump cards for ending a fight, these two had brought theirs out from the start.

* * *

“Both disciples are exceptional talents.”

At the elders' viewing platform at the edge of the arena, the group present had changed somewhat from before.

Elder Seok, who looked middle-aged, and his disciple Yu Su-wol were absent.

Those remaining were Elder Jong, who sat stroking his beard, Ha Seung, Gwang Seung-hyeon, and Myeong Seokho, who had been called to his master's side after finishing his match.

Early Qi Refining stage disciples were also fighting in the arena, but everyone's attention was fixed on the duel between Son Yu-seol and Jin Hyeon.

Elder Jong watched the two disciples with a satisfied smile.

At present, the two were evenly matched, firing the Red Phoenix Cannon and Red Thunder Finger at each other while using talismans and other methods to defend themselves or seek openings.

When Son Yu-seol first drew the Red Phoenix Cannon, Elder Jong had praised Ha Seung's artifact refinement skill and Son Yu-seol, the excellent disciple who could wield a high-grade magical artifact he had made at such an early stage.

Then Jin Hyeon countered with Red Thunder Finger, and Elder Jong's eyes gleamed with interest.

“So that child must be the disciple Senior Brother mentioned. Not only did he reach the seventh layer of Qi Refining shortly after entering the sect, but from what I can see, he has also successfully learned the cultivation method of Thunder-Burning Mountain that he received.”

Ha Seung, who was listening beside him, raised his brows at the unexpected remark.

He had taken some interest in Jin Hyeon, whom he had accepted as an odd-jobs disciple, because the young man had decent talent and seemed interested in artifact refinement. Still, he had not expected the sect elders to take notice of him.

“Junior Brother Jin is indeed impressive. He'll probably catch up to my realm before long.”

Myeong Seokho, who had been waiting beside Ha Seung, spoke with a smile.

“Hoho, I don't know if he can match your excellent aptitude. Seung, what are that child's spirit roots like? Has he shown talent in any other field?”

“As far as I know, he has a triple spirit root of fire, water, and wood. I don't know about other cultivation crafts, but from speaking with him, he seems to have a fair understanding of artifact refinement.”

Elder Jong made a thoughtful sound after hearing that, but soon shook his head.

“That won't do. If he had a dual spirit root or a special spirit physique, I might take him in. But if he has a triple spirit root, reaching Core Formation would be difficult.”

Instead, Elder Jong turned and called to Gwang Seung-hyeon.

Though Jin Hyeon had only a triple spirit root, his mastery of Thunder-Burning Mountain's cultivation method might prove useful in the future.

Not wanting to give up on Jin Hyeon completely, Elder Jong decided to entrust him to Gwang Seung-hyeon, Elder Jong's exceptionally talented disciple.

That quiet and dependable disciple could surely take that rough gem and nurture it into something worthwhile.

“Third, what do you think? Would you consider taking that boy as your disciple? His cultivation aptitude falls short of expectations, but judging by the fact that he can already use a spell like that, his talent for spell arts shouldn't be poor.”

Gwang Seung-hyeon was watching the duel below while idly touching the sword sheath at his waist.

Without breaking his calm expression, he answered evenly.

“I would like to watch this duel through before deciding.”

Elder Jong accepted his answer and leaned back in his chair.

Even if Gwang Seung-hyeon refused, Elder Jong still intended to entrust Jin Hyeon to him.

Meanwhile, Jin Hyeon, the subject of their conversation, continued exchanging blows with Son Yu-seol.

‘This won't work.’

Jin Hyeon gritted his teeth.

At the moment, he and Son Yu-seol were little more than glass cannons.

They both had defensive measures, but those were only meant to block the smaller spells they threw at each other.

He had no way to stop Son Yu-seol's Red Phoenix Cannon, and she could not emerge unharmed after taking Red Thunder Finger.

The first person to land a hit would win.

At first, Jin Hyeon had thought the fight would be short because they had both revealed powerful methods from the start. But they both had abundant spiritual power, so the battle was lasting longer than expected.

Moreover, the current situation was unfavorable to him.

Whatever movement art Son Yu-seol had learned, she was evading Red Thunder Finger, an attack difficult to dodge with ordinary reaction speed, as smoothly as flowing water.

Jin Hyeon, on the other hand, was continuing to evade by explosively unleashing spiritual power, relying on the natural physical abilities of a martial arts clan scion and the little training he had received from his uncle.

He had stopped using Red Thunder Finger some time ago to conserve spiritual power, but his other methods could not easily break through her defensive spell arts and evasion.

Having come this far, Jin Hyeon decided to stake everything on one move.

Boom!

He barely avoided the explosive fire-aspected spiritual qi shell of the Red Phoenix Cannon. Ignoring his burning left arm, he took out the hammer magical artifact he had used several times in earlier battles.

He could use his flying sword, but its instantaneous power was too weak to force Son Yu-seol into a defensive stance.

Jin Hyeon immediately hurled the hammer at Son Yu-seol.

Without panicking at the sudden flying artifact, Son Yu-seol took out a talisman and attached it to her shoulder.

The talisman shone, and a faint golden barrier rose over her skin.

After activating the defensive Diamond Talisman, Son Yu-seol did not stop there. She stretched out her hand and raised a wall of earth along the hammer's path.

But the hammer was stronger than she had expected.

With a dull impact, it punched through the earthen wall and struck her directly. Even protected by the Diamond Talisman, Son Yu-seol felt the heavy impact as her body lifted off the ground.

The direct damage was not serious, but it disrupted her process of charging the Red Phoenix Cannon.

“Cough. Is this Junior Brother's trump card?”

Son Yu-seol coughed as she swept away the thick dust before her with spiritual qi.

Though she spoke that way, she believed that this junior brother must be preparing another move. She quickly squeezed out more spiritual power and finished loading the Red Phoenix Cannon.

However, the sight before her when her vision cleared was somewhat different from what she had expected.

Rather than preparing a spell or a powerful magical artifact, Jin Hyeon had a snake in front of him.

‘A spirit beast? Why didn't he use it from the beginning?’

She could not understand.

Controlling a spirit beast did not consume spiritual power, and it would give him an advantage in battle. Why had he only brought it out now?

She could not know of the shallow bond between Jin Hyeon and the black snake, so she was bewildered.

Meanwhile, Jin Hyeon was not surprised to see that Son Yu-seol was still unharmed.

Even a medium-grade magical artifact only had high instantaneous destructive power. With adequate preparation, it could be blocked.

The hammer had merely bought a little time and delayed the Red Phoenix Cannon's attack. His true preparation was this Black Serpent.

Jin Hyeon looked at the snake writhing in pain at his feet.

Chaotic crimson patterns had been engraved across the snake's black scales, and they glowed brighter as Jin Hyeon guided spiritual power according to the incantation of the secret art.

This was Savage Blood Art, recorded in the Ghost-Soul Demon Art that Jin Hyeon had obtained from the black-clad cultivator.

It was a secret art that greatly increased a spirit beast's combat power for a short time, then killed the spirit beast afterward.

Its effects and appearance were certainly close to demonic arts, but by the vague standards of the cultivation world, it would likely be regarded as nothing more than a special secret art. Therefore, Jin Hyeon was not afraid to use it openly.

Under the effects of Savage Blood Art, the black snake's power began to swell.

It rose from low first-tier strength, roughly equivalent to the early Qi Refining stage, until it eventually neared Son Yu-seol's eighth layer of Qi Refining.

Though temporary, this tremendous increase drew a strong reaction from the surrounding disciples.

For the lower-ranking disciples, most of whom had been at the same level as the snake only moments ago, such an instantaneous rise in realm was like a dream.

Son Yu-seol could not ignore the change either.

She decided she needed to deal with it before Jin Hyeon could properly make use of the snake, and aimed the Red Phoenix Cannon at the Black Serpent.

Jin Hyeon smiled with satisfaction at the Black Serpent, which had finished undergoing Savage Blood Art and was still rolling about in a daze. It had grown from the length of a human arm into a massive snake several dozen feet long.

Before it could truly begin rampaging, Jin Hyeon used the Object-Controlling Art to lift the snake and the earth beneath it all at once.

“Go! Black Serpent Burst!”

Then he hurled the snake at Son Yu-seol.

Startled by the suddenly flying snake, Son Yu-seol fired the fully charged Red Phoenix Cannon.

Boom!

With a heavy explosion, nearly half the black snake's body was blown away.

The lingering fire energy rampaged through its body, eating away at its spiritual power and vitality.

But the Black Serpent, already driven berserk by Savage Blood Art, was not incapacitated.

Instead, furious from the immense pain and exhilarated by the entirely different level of power it felt within itself, it charged at Son Yu-seol.

Before she could react, it coiled tightly around her and began constricting her entire body.

Jin Hyeon did not miss that opening and immediately prepared Red Thunder Finger.

With his opponent incapacitated, there would be no way to evade it.

“Impressive, but... you've already been hit by the Red Phoenix Cannon, so... this much...!”

Just as Jin Hyeon prepared to finish the battle, Son Yu-seol's voice emerged from within the snake's coils, which had become like a black wall. Then, with a flash of bright light, Son Yu-seol's upper body broke through the snake's coils and into the open air.

Jin Hyeon admired the sight.

As expected, cultivators who trained in great sects under excellent masters possessed remarkable skill.

If the black-clad cultivator and Son Yu-seol fought, Son Yu-seol would likely win.

But this time, he had won.

Jin Hyeon fiercely stimulated the crimson lightning gathered at his fingertips and sent it at Son Yu-seol.

“Look over here.”

Or rather, he tried to.

Just before Jin Hyeon fired the crimson lightning, Son Yu-seol raised her head and met his eyes.

The moment Jin Hyeon saw her eyes, he froze.

Unable to react at all, he stood rooted to the spot as if he had forgotten what he had been about to do.

Seeing his reaction, Son Yu-seol felt relief along with the certainty that she had succeeded.

The spell she had just used was Mind-Confounding Eye Art, a type of illusion art and mental spell art that clouded the mind of anyone who met her gaze and made them forget what they had intended to do.

She was not yet proficient with it and had not been sure it would succeed, so she had not dared use it carelessly. Fortunately, it seemed to have worked this time.

“Ho.”

But at that moment, a quiet exclamation came from the elders' viewing platform. Jin Hyeon's eyes immediately regained their clarity, and his body continued the attack.

“Ah!”

Before Son Yu-seol could even be startled by the change, she was struck directly by the crimson lightning.

The referee's declaration soon followed.

“Disciple Jin Hyeon's victory!”

Join our discord at https://dsc.gg/wetried