WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: DereKimchi

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◈ Carefree Tale of Cultivation ◈

Chapter 3: Flying Vessel

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“Mm…”

His head spun, and his body felt limp.

Jin Hyeon let out a faint groan and opened his eyes.

“Hyeon!”

The first thing he saw was his uncle’s face, filled with worry.

With Baek Woo’s support, Jin Hyeon slowly sat up and looked around.

Everyone gathered in the wide clearing was staring at him.

“Hyeon, are you all right? Does anything hurt?”

“Uncle, just now…”

“Congratulations.”

Just as Jin Hyeon, still unable to grasp the situation, was about to question Baek Woo, the cultivator dressed like a scholar cut in from a short distance away, where he had been examining the disk in his hand.

In a warmer voice than before, he approached the uncle and nephew and tilted the disk to show them the orb.

Three points of light had appeared within the orb, which had originally been transparent.

The lights, radiating blue, green, and red respectively, drifted slowly inside it.

“A triple spirit root of fire, water, and wood. Go wait over there while the other children are tested.”

Jin Hyeon did not know what a spirit root was, but the young man’s attitude told him that he had passed the test.

Forcing his weak, waterlogged body to move, Jin Hyeon bowed to him.

The young man nodded, seemingly satisfied with his response.

“Exalted Immortal, why did my nephew collapse just now? Was that also part of the test?”

As Baek Woo helped Jin Hyeon to his feet, he checked his nephew over with concern and asked the question.

The young man answered as though it were nothing.

“I sent a little spiritual qi into the child to test his spirit root, and it merely startled his channels. This sometimes happens to children with weak constitutions, but it is not a serious problem.”

Baek Woo sighed in relief, but Jin Hyeon was doubtful.

‘What I just went through was caused by my channels being startled?’

The Pitch-Black Space. The mist. Even that unbearable pain.

Jin Hyeon did not think it had all happened simply because his channels had been startled.

Perhaps it had been an effect of the testing disk for spirit roots, but he considered that unlikely as well.

This was an examination for children. Was it normal to let them suffer that much pain?

Instinctively, he felt that this was a secret that must not be exposed.

Supported by Baek Woo, Jin Hyeon went to stand where the young man had indicated and wiped the cold sweat from the back of his neck.

Then he watched the children slowly step out behind him.

The first child was an ordinary disciple.

Unlike Jin Hyeon, he was not called out. He simply hesitated before walking forward on his own.

The boy, who looked about eight years old, seemed frightened by what had happened to Jin Hyeon. He faltered as he placed his hand on the orb.

The young man reached out and grasped the boy’s shoulder, just as he had done with Jin Hyeon.

And nothing happened.

Amid everyone’s tense stares, the boy unconsciously opened his tightly shut eyes and looked confused.

“Failed. Go back.”

The voice was utterly different from the one he had used with Jin Hyeon, cold and indifferent. The boy returned to the other children with a face full of disappointment.

After that first brave challenger, the ordinary disciples came forward one after another to be tested. The children brought by the sect elders did not step forward.

Jin Hyeon was astonished that, even after fifty people had been tested, not a single one had passed.

This aptitude called a spirit root seemed to be extremely rare.

After some time, another successful candidate finally appeared.

“A quadruple spirit root of fire, water, wood, and earth. You wait over there as well.”

The girl, who looked a little younger than Jin Hyeon, beamed and ran over.

After she greeted Jin Hyeon and his uncle with a bow, Jin Hyeon studied her for a moment before speaking quietly.

“Um, what did it feel like when you were tested just now?”

He had avoided asking too directly, so the question came out vague.

The girl, still flushed with excitement, tilted her head innocently.

“It felt like qi from the immortal’s hand was moving through my body. It felt cool, unlike inner qi.”

She did not understand why Jin Hyeon was asking, but as a young child, she answered without a trace of deceit.

Jin Hyeon nodded, thanked her briefly, then vaguely explained to the equally puzzled Baek Woo that he had asked because he had fainted and did not know what the examination felt like.

After that, Jin Hyeon watched the children being tested closely, looking for anyone who showed an unusual reaction.

By the time the examinations of nearly one hundred and fifty ordinary disciples had ended, only three, including the girl from before, had passed. All were judged to possess quadruple spirit roots.

Yet none of them had experienced what Jin Hyeon had.

Four people seemed like a very small number, but judging from the young man and the woman in purple robes, even four appeared to have exceeded expectations.

“All right, it’s your turn now.”

At the woman in purple robes’ call, the elders sent the children they had brought forward.

The ten boys and girls all looked full of confidence.

Yet their results were not much different from those of the ordinary disciples.

Of the ten, only one boy was judged to possess a triple spirit root and passed. The rest awkwardly joined the group of successful candidates, their faces dark with disappointment.

Apparently, having greater talent in martial arts did not mean one was more likely to possess a spirit root.

Just as Jin Hyeon looked around, thinking the selection was over, the Sect Leader, who had quietly risen beside the woman in purple robes, spoke.

“Martial Aunt, please examine this child’s aptitude as well.”

As he spoke, he extended a hand and gestured toward a tall young man.

The young man had been standing among the ordinary disciples. Unlike the children around ten years old, he looked nearly grown, so no one had thought he was waiting to be tested.

The elders, however, seemed to know something and showed little reaction.

He could be briefly described as a handsome young man. A white cloth headband was wrapped around his head.

Stepping forward with a respectful manner, he approached the young cultivator without hesitation and placed his hand on the testing disk.

Before the cultivator could even raise his hand to send in spiritual qi, the disk gave a slight tremble.

The young cultivator’s eyes widened as he stared at the crystal.

“A dual spirit root of water and earth…”

The woman in purple robes was also quietly surprised when she turned to the Sect Leader.

The Sect Leader stroked his snow-white beard and laughed heartily.

“This is my great-grandson, Woo-hyeon. Woo-hyeon, greet the two Exalted Immortals.”

The young man immediately bowed to them.

“This disciple, Yang Woo-hyeon of the Pine Sword Sect, pays respects to the two Exalted Immortals.”

The woman in purple robes looked at Yang Woo-hyeon with pleased affection, but the young cultivator furrowed his brow.

“You are already at Qi Refining, Level 2. Did you learn a cultivation method elsewhere?”

“No. I have only learned the secret art passed down within our sect.”

At Yang Woo-hyeon’s answer, the young cultivator glanced at the stele in the center of the clearing and nodded in understanding. He then instructed Yang Woo-hyeon to wait with Jin Hyeon’s group as well.

Watching the process, Jin Hyeon thought that the world was truly unfair.

Judging from the cultivators’ reactions, fewer spirit roots seemed to be better. Yet those with no spirit roots were judged to lack the aptitude, so having just one spirit root must be the greatest talent.

That Yang Woo-hyeon, the Sect Leader’s great-grandson, not only possessed the high-quality dual spirit root, but also seemed to have gained the power of cultivators in advance through some method.

Whether Jin Hyeon thought it unfair or not, the young man turned his palm over, making the testing disk vanish just as he had brought it out, and declared the test finished.

“We will depart at once, so say your farewells.”

The woman in purple robes approached Jin Hyeon and the other successful candidates as she spoke.

At her words, the ordinary disciples went to bid farewell to the friends they had been with, while the children brought by the elders scattered briefly to say their goodbyes.

Jin Hyeon looked at his uncle, who was still holding him up.

Then he slowly freed himself from Baek Woo’s support, straightened his posture, and bowed.

“Travel safely.”

Baek Woo patted Jin Hyeon on the shoulder and left him with those brief words.

In that moment, Jin Hyeon made a vow.

He was leaving for the Immortal Realm now and did not know when he would return, but someday he would come home in glory and thank his uncle.

Before long, everyone had finished their farewells and gathered again.

Seeing this, the woman in purple robes lightly tapped her waist.

Hummm.

A small object shot out from her waist, then rapidly expanded into a huge silver disk.

“Come, climb aboard.”

The disk carried everyone up into the air.

Jin Hyeon reflexively lowered his stance, marveling as his view rose higher. The other children also stared wide-eyed at the ground growing distant below them.

The disk flew swiftly and soon approached the ship hovering above the Pine Sword Sect’s plaza.

It gradually slowed, then settled gently onto the ship’s deck.

Following the two cultivators who disembarked first, Jin Hyeon and everyone else stepped off the disk and onto the ship.

The silver disk gave a brief tremble, shrank again, and vanished near the woman in purple robes’ waist.

Jin Hyeon watched closely and saw the disk get sucked into the opening of a small pouch hanging from her waist.

‘An inventory?’

The concept familiar to anyone from the modern world came to mind. Jin Hyeon soon noticed that the young cultivator wore a similar pouch at his waist.

Countless questions and doubts filled his mind.

The world of immortals truly exceeded even his imagination.

Led by the two cultivators, the group crossed the deck and passed through a small passage near the stern of the ship.

Once inside, Jin Hyeon realized that the ship was more spacious than he had expected.

At the end of the passage was a circular space, with rooms arranged along hallways extending in every direction.

There seemed to be a lower level as well, for he occasionally heard quiet conversations from beneath his feet.

“We will arrive after flying for three days. You will each be shown to a room, so go rest. I know you have many questions, but everything will be explained once we reach the sect, so do not worry.”

With those words, the woman in purple robes and the young cultivator quickly left.

A man approached the bewildered group.

“Welcome. My name is Gu Hokgeum. Some of you will come to call me Senior Brother.”

At his brief introduction, joy and sorrow crossed the faces of the group.

Those who were going to the Immortal Realm merely because they were relatives of elders were reminded once more that they could not become cultivators.

Ignoring their reactions, Gu Hokgeum continued.

“As the two senior cultivators said, this flying vessel will travel for three days. I will now assign you the rooms where you will be staying, so listen carefully.”

He divided them into groups of roughly three or four and assigned each group a room.

“You may leave your rooms in the morning and afternoon. Going onto the deck is forbidden. Going out at night is also forbidden, so don’t forget.”

With that, Gu Hokgeum waved a hand dismissively and walked down the northern corridor.

Jin Hyeon scratched his head.

It seemed that this man called Gu Hokgeum found dealing with them troublesome.

He approached the two people assigned to share his room.

They were not successful candidates with spirit roots. Both had come due to an elder’s privilege.

The two boys gave Jin Hyeon, whom they would once have ignored for lacking martial talent, fake smiles and greeted him, saying they should get along.

“Sure. Let’s get along.”

There was no harm in saying something nice.

In any case, he would have no reason to see them again after they reached the Immortal Realm.

Jin Hyeon opened the room door marked with his assigned number and entered.

The room was quite spacious. Two bunk beds stood on either side, and there was a window in the wall that showed the view outside.

While the two boys naturally claimed an upper bunk each, Jin Hyeon looked out the window.

What he had thought was glass was actually part of the wooden wall made transparent.

Jin Hyeon ran a hand over the transparent wood grain in amazement.

The scenery outside moved slowly.

People in this world, with little experience of flight, might have considered the speed slow. But Jin Hyeon, who had flown on airplanes in his past life, knew that the ship was moving rapidly at a very high altitude.

Resting his chin on one hand, he admired the ground slowly passing below.

Someday, he would see such a sight through his own power alone.

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