WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: DereKimchi

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◈ Carefree Tale of Cultivation ◈

Chapter 31: Pyeongeum City

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A rural village on the border of the Sang Kingdom.

A snot-nosed boy had been working in the fields with his elderly father since early morning.

Following his father, who held a plow and wiped away sweat, the boy stretched out his grimy sleeve to wipe his own forehead and looked up at the blazing sun.

Of course, it was too bright for him to see properly, so he squinted hard.

"Huh?"

The boy rubbed both eyes.

Had he seen wrong?

"Pa! Something just flew through the sky!"

"Hm? Did a bird fly past?"

"No! A boat flew by! It looked like the fishing boat Uncle Hwang from the lower village uses!"

At those absurd words, the boy's father looked up at the sky without thinking.

It was clear, without a single cloud.

"You brat, if you're going to fool me, at least put some thought into it. Even if you want to tease your old father, say something believable. A boat flying through the sky..."

The child was a good boy, but he had been showing signs of being slow for some time. His father decided that he had to send the boy to a village school somehow.

"But... I really saw it..."

The boy felt wronged.

He had only said what he truly saw, so why was he being called a liar?

As one pitiful boy was being treated like a fool, Jin Hyeon was flying high in the sky.

Naturally, he was not flying bare-bodied.

Only Foundation Establishment cultivators could satisfy the spiritual power requirements of a spell technique that allowed them to fly entirely under their own power.

But he was not riding the Silver Swallow Board he usually used either.

He was currently flying aboard a small boat that looked exactly like a fishing vessel.

It was not particularly large, measuring twice his height in length and wide enough for two people to sit in.

It had neither mast nor oars. Only the hull cut through the sky.

This flying magical artifact, a smaller version of the flying vessel Jin Hyeon had once ridden, was called the Flatwood Boat.

It was a mid-grade magical artifact made from flatwood, a light spirit wood that readily accepted spiritual power. It was faster than the Silver Swallow Board and even possessed protective functions.

Jin Hyeon lay spread-eagled across the bottom of the Flatwood Boat, staring at the blue sky.

From within the swiftly moving vessel, he occasionally saw white clouds swept behind him, as well as flocks of birds passing by as if they found him interesting.

Even when sunlight struck his eyes from a certain angle, he could keep them open unlike when he had been a mortal, and his vision was never blocked.

'How should I put it... This kind of feels like looking at the sky through a car window while lying down in the backseat as a child...'

Remembering that distant past, Jin Hyeon briefly sat up to check the Flatwood Boat's direction, then lay back down.

He had been flying for three consecutive days.

He had just left the bounds of the Cheongyu Mountain Range, where the Blue Willow Sect was located, and entered the Sang Kingdom next to the Wol Kingdom.

'Come to think of it, was Won Hyu a prince of the imperial family here?'

Thinking of that familiar name, Jin Hyeon closed his eyes and reflected on his recent life.

"...Time really flies."

Nothing particularly special had happened over the past six months.

Whenever he had free time, he went to Azure Forge Pavilion to make low-grade magical artifacts, left Won Hyu to sell them, and familiarized himself with the Azure Serpent Thunder Sword and the Three-Thunder Sword Art.

Once he could wrap the Azure Serpent Thunder Sword in thunder qi, extend that thunder qi in the form of sword qi, and control it, Gwang Seung-hyeon recognized that he had entered the path of sword arts.

Back when he had lived at the Jin Family estate, he had believed wielding sword qi to be the pinnacle of martial attainment. Now he could do it with a cultivation method he had practiced for only a few months, which left him feeling strangely conflicted.

And though his master was a man of few words, he sincerely cared for his disciple.

He answered Jin Hyeon's occasional questions about spell techniques in detail, and he did not demand that Jin Hyeon offer gifts as a disciple.

Compared to the many Foundation Establishment cultivators who took on more than ten disciples and accepted tribute in return for their teachings, Gwang Seung-hyeon could be called a gentleman.

Moreover, for some reason, he had not gone out on missions recently. Rather than helping his master with work, Jin Hyeon had only been receiving instruction.

As for Jin Hyeon's progress in cultivation, Gwang Seung-hyeon simply believed that he had digested the Snow-Vine Pill well.

Meanwhile, Jin Hyeon himself was considering exchanging it for artifact-refinement materials.

His business with Won Hyu and his artifact-refinement practice had both been going well.

Word had spread that the artifacts he made rivaled mid-grade magical artifacts, and he had sold quite a few.

The fact that he was also skilled at artifact refinement had become known, drawing enthusiastic reactions from other disciples after the disciples' tournament.

His skill had improved through continued practice, and he was now even attempting to make simple mid-grade magical artifacts.

The Flatwood Boat he currently rode was his first and only successful mid-grade magical artifact.

He had achieved his goal of flying through the sky aboard a boat through his own efforts earlier than expected.

Other than that, he mostly spent his time occasionally meeting acquaintances.

Ha Seung and Myeong Seokho were still in seclusion, so he could not meet them. Instead, he occasionally encountered Son Yu-seol and exchanged greetings with her.

He often drank the lightly fragrant spiritual tea she had given him.

He had also visited Nam Hyeok and his wife, hoping they might identify Nyx's exact species, but they had said they did not know either.

They said Nyx did not seem to be a variant, but the cultivation world was vast, with countless similar species and species they did not know. Seeing his interest in the matter, they gave him a book called the Illustrated Compendium of Insect Kings.

It recorded many spirit insects, including praying mantis spirit insects, but none matched Nyx's appearance or the black aura that manifested from its scythes.

Still, Jin Hyeon found it amusing, as though he were reading an insect encyclopedia for the first time in a long while, and spent some time carrying it around and reading it.

Naturally, his cultivation had also progressed amid that steady life.

Besides learning the Three-Thunder Sword Art and various spell techniques recorded in the Azure Thunder Soul-Carving Art, his realm had risen as well.

Before leaving the sect this time, he had cultivated in the black space and broken through to Qi Refining, Level 10.

Jin Hyeon took a deep breath as he sensed the ten droplet-like thunder marks within his Soul Sea.

Cool air filled his lungs, bringing a refreshing sensation.

Considering that he had only just reached Level 10, it would probably take years to reach Level 12.

Still, at Qi Refining, Level 10, he would not be looked down upon where he was headed.

Jin Hyeon took a small wooden token from his storage pouch.

A flame emblem was engraved on one side, and a map to a certain location on the other. It was the invitation to the exchange gathering that Jegal Yeong had given him before.

He had already planned to attend the gathering focused on artifact refinement, but after Do Do-ryeo told him about Jegal Yeong's identity, his resolve to go had become even firmer.

'The direct granddaughter of a Core Formation elder. And a blood relative of Jade Cloud True Person, the person called the Blue Willow Sect's second-in-command.'

The moment he heard the name Jade Cloud True Person, he remembered whom she resembled.

It was that suspicious "Senior" he had met when he first visited Jade Cloud Tower.

From the circumstances, there was no doubt that this was Jade Cloud True Person Jegal Gwon, a great cultivator who had reached late Core Formation.

'No wonder they seemed extraordinary from the first time I met them...'

Such an impressive person had read his fortune and selected a cultivation method for him.

Jin Hyeon did not know whether he should be moved by that fact or frightened by the realization that a Core Formation cultivator had once stood right in front of him.

In any case, given Jegal Yeong's status, meeting and exchanging with those attending the gathering she hosted would surely benefit him.

For now, he decided to think only of that.

As he drifted along in idle thoughts, Jin Hyeon sensed that he was not far from his destination. He rose and stretched his body.

Only a few minutes after standing at the center of the Flatwood Boat, he caught sight of his destination.

After passing through thin clouds ahead, a vast plain came into view.

Though calling it a plain was not entirely accurate.

It was a plateau spread across towering cliffs that mortals would not even dare approach.

At the center of that plateau, so vast that even a cultivator could not take in its limits at a glance, stood an enormous city.

Jin Hyeon had once seen Sameung Market, a city-sized market.

But this place easily surpassed Sameung Market in grandeur.

Its scale alone was remarkable, and the crowds filling both inside and outside the city, like grains of sand, surpassed the bustle of Sameung Market.

This was Pyeongeum City, where Jegal Yeong's exchange gathering would be held.

Jin Hyeon had learned some basic information about this place before departing.

It was jointly operated not by a sect or a powerful individual, but by three cultivation clans.

Those three clans were the Nam Family, the Yeop Family, and the Seol Family. Each clan was said to have an ancestor who had reached Core Formation.

Simply put, Pyeongeum City had been founded by three groups with Core Formation-level strength.

Naturally, it served as a vast hub of exchange and trade visited by countless independent cultivators, cultivators from the three clans, and cultivators from other sects.

'Senior Brother Nam Hyeok is a member of the Nam Family here, isn't he?'

Jin Hyeon thought of Nam Hyeok, who lived happily with his wife while caring for spirit beasts at Azure Dragon Pavilion.

Perhaps he had a particular reason for leaving his family to join the Blue Willow Sect, because he did not often speak about his clan.

The Flatwood Boat swiftly approached one of Pyeongeum City's many massive gates.

For the first time in a while, Jin Hyeon felt something faint sweep over him.

It was likely the sensation of a Foundation Establishment cultivator's divine sense scanning him, something other Qi Refining cultivators would not even properly notice.

Sure enough, as he slowed the Flatwood Boat and descended toward the ground, someone flew over.

"Halt. Flying is prohibited in Pyeongeum City. Get off your flying magical artifact, and if you wish to enter, pay the entrance fee."

The man in yellow appeared middle-aged, with nearly as much white hair as black, making it clear that he was no longer young.

For a Foundation Establishment cultivator to look like that meant either that he had reached Foundation Establishment late in life or that he had nearly exhausted the lifespan granted to Foundation Establishment cultivators.

Jin Hyeon glanced at the character for "Seol" embroidered on the man's shoulder, then respectfully cupped his fist in his palm.

"Thank you for informing me, Senior. How many spirit stones is the entrance fee?"

The Foundation Establishment cultivator examined Jin Hyeon's realm, seemed to consider for a moment, then lightly clicked his tongue.

"Five spirit stones."

Without a word, Jin Hyeon handed over the spirit stones, put away the Flatwood Boat, and passed through the city gate.

'If my realm had been lower, he might have demanded extra spirit stones. As expected, having some cultivation lowers the chances of being cheated.'

Jin Hyeon casually assessed the Foundation Establishment cultivator's behavior and continued on.

As he headed deeper into the city, he felt slight resistance, as though some sort of formation had been set up.

But it apparently activated only under certain circumstances, and he passed through the transparent barrier without being stopped.

The city was extremely crowded.

As in Sameung Market and Suyeop Market, there were many shops selling various magical artifacts, talismans, and medicinal pills. But there were also many things he had never seen before.

He saw fighting arenas where demon beasts were pitted against one another for entertainment and gambling.

Atop a massive winehouse more than ten stories tall, beautiful butterfly-shaped illusions fluttered through the air.

What surprised him even more, however, was the abundance of "ordinary" shops.

There were inns, taverns, restaurants, shops selling all sorts of accessories, clothing stores, and bookstores.

Some sold accessories or clothes close to magical artifacts imbued with spiritual power, and others sold books containing cultivation methods or spell techniques. Yet quite a few sold ordinary gold accessories, novels, and miscellaneous books.

Having arrived several days before his planned schedule, Jin Hyeon wandered around the city and observed such shops until he realized who their primary customers were.

"Thank you, Uncle! You have no idea how much I searched to get the next volume of this novel. I was already looking forward to it after I heard that Black Ox finally beats Jeonuk."

"I really don't understand the tastes of children your age. Anyway, brat, I had a hard time getting it, so put in a good word for me with your older brother."

"Uncle, honestly... My brother may have become a cultivator, but he's still your nephew. It's not like you need to ask me to put in a good word..."

"You don't understand anything, brat. Anyway, read it well, and show your brother some respect too."

Surprisingly, the young boy who bought a novel outside a bookstore and the middle-aged shopkeeper were both mortals.

Judging by their conversation, they were family, and the boy's older brother appeared to be a cultivator.

'I see. Not every descendant of a cultivation clan is a cultivator...'

Jin Hyeon recalled a common truth of the cultivation world, and the reason cultivation clans could endure.

Cultivation clans were, literally, family communities made up of cultivators.

This was possible because children born between cultivators had a higher chance of possessing spirit roots.

No one knew the reason.

Perhaps great experts who had reached Nascent Soul or Spirit Transformation knew that secret, but regardless of the reason, it was true.

Thus, cultivation clans gathered among themselves or brought in sons-in-law and daughters-in-law from outside to produce more descendants with spirit roots and preserve their standing as a group.

But being born with spirit roots was rare to begin with, perhaps one child among countless others.

No matter how much the odds improved, most clan members had no choice but to be mortals.

They did not receive treatment as "true members," but they lived better lives than other mortals through their blood ties with cultivators. Such were the mortal descendants of Pyeongeum City's three great clans.

Moreover, they did not casually associate with cultivators who were not from their own clans. And since cultivators did not wish to offend the three great clans that ruled Pyeongeum City, they did not bother the clans' mortal relatives either. Thus, an unspoken division had been established.

Having learned something new, Jin Hyeon was about to visit more mortal-run shops when the delicious scent drifting from one side of the street stopped him.

He was still a Qi Refining cultivator and had not completely dispensed with food, so he ate from time to time.

But he usually ate simply to get by, so the temptation of fragrant cooking, which he had not smelled in a long while, naturally drew his steps.

In the end, deciding to treat himself for once, Jin Hyeon entered a rather lavishly decorated restaurant.

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