WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR

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Episode 16: Chance, Fate, and Destiny (3)

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The three elderly cultivators had no choice but to accept Ise’s proposal.

It was infuriating that something like this had happened in such a rural backwater, but at least they were dealing with someone they could reason with. That was fortunate, considering the circumstances.

The Biryuseong Sect Master cautiously asked Ise, “Cultivator, could you perhaps lift the restriction seals?”

“Why?”

“If we travel through Biryuseong while restrained and are attacked by people harboring rebellious intentions... it could become troublesome.”

“You’ve got a good sense of humor. What sect would chop off its sect master’s head just because they were under a restriction seal?”

Ise burst out laughing at the first genuinely funny joke he had heard in some time.

He had struggled through so many forced laughs at his seniors’ dull jokes. This time, it was actually funny.

“...”

“...? You’re serious?”

The Biryuseong Sect Master wore a troubled expression and was sweating nervously. It seemed this had not been a joke.

What in the world was wrong with this continent?

Surely not every force on the continent was like this.

These three must simply have earned little goodwill.

“Then I’ll lift only the Sect Master’s restriction seal.”

Ise released the Sect Master’s seal.

Soon afterward, the Sect Master hurried about, gathering and transporting the sect’s spirit artifacts.

While that happened, Ise listened as the other elders explained the Northern Continent.

There was quite a lot to interest him.

The first thing an elder told him was especially striking. The Northern Continent had already been unified under a single force.

The ruler who had conquered the Northern Continent was Grand Duke Baek Yungeom, the lord of Heavenly Ice Palace.

He was a great cultivator at the Great Perfection of the Nascent Soul Realm.

The elder added that the Tyrant Sword Sect, a Nascent Soul Realm sect, and Essence-Draining Ghost-Demon Valley supported him as his right and left hands.

Ise was pleased to hear the name Tyrant Sword Sect, but Essence-Draining Ghost-Demon Valley made him uneasy.

“Essence-Draining Ghost-Demon Valley... That sounds like the name of a demonic sect.”

“Yes. It is a demonic sect.”

“...?”

Ise frowned in bafflement.

“A demonic sect can serve beneath a cultivation sect? And the cultivation sect accepts that?”

“...Is there any reason it should not?”

“Demonic arts can easily cause someone to be controlled by a heart demon and harm others.”

“Shouldn’t that be a problem for the demonic sect to bear?”

What kind of absurd nonsense was that? Ise’s face twisted.

“...And they can raise their realm by sucking the life out of others. They also cultivate vicious arts that are hard to tolerate.”

“Doesn’t every cultivation force raise its realm by sucking the life out of others?”

“...”

Ise could not bring himself to answer.

That meant he could not hunt a demonic cultivator on the streets of the Northern Continent however he pleased.

Since even basic common sense seemed useless here, he waved for the elder to continue.

The Northern Continent had several unusual characteristics.

First, two cultivation forces were not permitted within the same city.

Only one ruling force could exist inside a city.

“A straightforward rule.”

Ise gave a brief assessment.

Second, a city had to receive permission from Heavenly Ice Palace before waging war against another city.

“At least there must be fewer wars. I suppose Heavenly Ice Palace dislikes conflict?”

“Not at all. Permission for war is granted very frequently, even over the slightest pretext. There was even a city that started a war because another city had the same name.”

There were mad people everywhere.

The elder added that the victor of a war took all the resources, cultivators, and mortal slaves from the defeated side.

The third characteristic was the most remarkable, and it was represented by the Foundation Establishment spirit artifact before them.

“This is a furnace called the Air-Warming Furnace. With this, a city’s temperature can be raised high enough for mortals to survive. Please, do not take this. Most of Biryuseong would freeze to death.”

“Yes. I won’t take it.”

The important thing was not the furnace itself, but the flame inside it.

It was a flame taken from the divine artifact called the Heavenly Fire Cauldron. Unless deliberately extinguished, it would burn endlessly and warm the surrounding land.

Every city in the Northern Continent had a furnace containing one of these flames.

If the furnace was destroyed, most of the city’s inhabitants would die. That was why it was kept in the city’s most secure location.

“So Heavenly Ice Palace uses these furnaces to strengthen its rule over the Northern Continent.”

“That is one way to put it. If the sect master of a Foundation Establishment city reaches the Core Formation Realm, the city is elevated to a Core Formation city and receives a larger flame. It can then support more territory and a far greater population, so the city itself grows as well.”

“Is allowing only one sect to rule each city meant to prevent the furnace from being destroyed in a war?”

“That may be part of it, but it is probably easier to manage that way. Heavenly Ice Palace has less interest in the forces it rules than one might think.”

Ise asked with an uncertain expression, “Are all cultivators forced to belong to a sect?”

“Not at all. Many remain unaffiliated and act as independent cultivators. But if an independent cultivator in a Foundation Establishment city newly reaches the Foundation Establishment Realm, they must choose one of three paths. They can fight the existing force and seize its rule, join that force, or leave the city, obtain Heavenly Ice Palace’s approval, and establish a new city.”

Ise fired off one question after another.

The culture differed so greatly from the Eastern Continent that he had much to ask.

“What happens if an independent cultivator enters another city?”

“Those who travel between cities are called wandering cultivators. They do not need to join a force in principle, but if they violate the Northern Continent’s rules, they become public enemies of the continent and are hunted.”

The Northern Continent’s rules.

That was the information Ise needed most right now.

He listened intently.

“There are two things you must remember, Cultivator. Do not attack a city lord. Do not remain in a city for more than one year without the city lord’s permission. If you enter a Foundation Establishment city, it is best to immediately state that you are a wandering cultivator and explain your purpose. Otherwise, you may be mistaken for a spy from another city seeking to start a war.”

So that was why they had attacked him without warning.

Traveling between continents had been little more than a convenient excuse. They had mistaken him for someone from another city trying to provoke Biryuseong into war.

Only then did Ise understand the situation.

“That isn’t difficult. Does a city have to report wandering cultivators to Heavenly Ice Palace when they enter?”

The elder could not answer Ise’s sharp question.

It seemed his guess was correct.

“Don’t tell me you’ve already reported me?”

“Not yet. Because of the restriction seals...”

Ise immediately restored the Biryuseong Sect Master, then took out a soul-binding contract.

“I don’t want it known that I have entered the Northern Continent, so let’s sign this.”

The terms were simple. The three of them were not to speak a single word about Ise by any means.

If they broke it, their heads would explode. It was a powerful restriction seal.

The three hesitated uneasily.

“Even if it were reported, they would not care about something happening in such a remote place...”

“Sign it.”

Ise’s reply was firm. Left with no choice, the three signed the contract.

Before long, all the sect’s spirit artifacts had been gathered together. There were fewer than Ise expected.

They had constantly complained about being a poor sect in a rural city. Apparently, that had been true.

Ise chose the Cold-Repelling Shoulder Guards, a Qi Condensation Realm treasure artifact. Worn over the shoulders, it protected the wearer from cold.

The design had seemed familiar. He had obtained one among the spoils from that Ryu whatever in the Dark Heaven Secret Realm.

He had laughed at the idea of a cultivator needing protection from cold and sold it cheaply.

“How much is this worth?”

“It is usually traded for around fifteen hundred Spiritual Stones.”

Expensive. Why would a Qi Condensation Realm treasure artifact, not even a sacred relic, cost fifteen hundred Spiritual Stones?

‘Then again, Qi Condensation Realm cultivators need one to travel outside the range of an Air-Warming Furnace.’

In the Northern Continent, it could almost be called a sacred relic.

“I’ll take this. You explained things so diligently, so I’m letting you off cheaply.”

“Thank... you.”

“Give me a map of the Northern Continent too. If you don’t have one, then a map of the nearby area or the regional forces.”

Having obtained everything he wanted, Ise smiled in satisfaction.

“Then please search thoroughly for the secret manual as well.”

* * *

While Biryuseong Sect searched every corner of Biryuseong, Ise borrowed the Sect Master’s cave abode and began cultivating.

Following Order Lord Haeil’s advice, he focused on gradually increasing the size of his primordial qi.

When he had first reached the Foundation Establishment Realm, his primordial qi had been the size of a water droplet. By the time Ise finished cultivating and emerged, it had grown to about the size of a finger.

It was slow, but it was growing little by little.

When the promised time arrived, Ise stepped outside the cave abode.

He had not been fortunate enough to find the Two Principles Return-to-Origin Art in the first city.

Biryuseong Sect had thoroughly searched every secret-manual bookshop and household in the city, but they had not found even a similarly named indestructible technique manual.

“I’m sorry, Cultivator.”

“It’s all right.”

Ise reassured the embarrassed Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators of Biryuseong Sect.

He had not expected to find it so easily in the first place.

After wishing the three a long life, Ise climbed onto the city wall.

He checked the map marked with nearby cities and considered where to go next.

Most cities outside the center of the Northern Continent were Foundation Establishment cities, so he intended to travel freely while searching.

The Northern Continent had three Nascent Soul Realm forces, around one hundred Core Formation Realm forces, and over a thousand Foundation Establishment Realm forces scattered throughout the land.

Its territory was larger than the Eastern Continent’s, but its total population seemed smaller.

He planned to travel through Foundation Establishment cities on the outskirts of the Northern Continent, cultivating and searching at the same time. Once he had absorbed all the Supreme-Grade Qi-Condensing Pellets, he would visit a Core Formation city.

‘Pungnyu City of the Ryu Clan.’

One location kept catching Ise’s eye as he considered his destination.

The name reminded him of someone.

It was not the nearest city, but for some reason, it was the one he wanted to visit first.

‘Biryuseong. Pungnyu City. The names are all so similar. Is it a trend?’

With that pointless thought, Ise rode the Dream-Saving Cloud toward Pungnyu City.

The Cold-Repelling Shoulder Guards certainly made flying more comfortable.

As he cut through the wind, he felt a strange sensation through his divine sense.

Nothing had entered the range of his divine sense, yet it felt as though his divine sense were pointing toward something.

That guidance was connected to the soul-binding contract deep inside his Cosmos Pouch.

Tilting his head, Ise followed the feeling.

Pungnyu City was drawing closer.

It was a city that looked almost identical to Biryuseong.

After using a Spirit-Veiling Talisman, Ise quietly infiltrated Pungnyu City and followed the sensation.

He worried that he might encounter another Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator and have their divine senses collide, but fortunately, the place his divine sense indicated was a residential cave abode deep within a quiet forest.

He sensed a cultivator cultivating inside.

When Ise confirmed the cultivator’s face with his divine sense, he beamed. It was someone he was glad to see.

The moment he saw the face, a name came to mind.

Ryu Seonghan.

He was the cultivator Ise had met in the Dark Heaven Secret Realm, the one who had attacked him before signing a soul-binding contract and being spared.

What an incredible connection.

When Ise had released him, he had thought that if they ever met again, he would use him as his hands and feet. He had never expected to truly meet him again.

Whether it was chance, fate, or destiny, it was good to have someone he could use without concern.

Ise smiled and used the Earth-Escape Art to burrow underground, appearing behind Ryu Seonghan.

Footnotes:

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