WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR

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Episode 24: Great Exorcist Order's Utter Scoundrel (3)

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A little later, Ise asked,

“Is it because of the difference in cultivation?”

“That can’t be ignored, either. But a fight between great cultivators isn’t decided by cultivation alone.”

Haeil continued leisurely.

“The Core Formation Realm is where the gap between minor realm boundaries is smallest. That’s why great cultivators rarely try to fight one another. There are too many variables, and it’s hard to tell who will win.”

Reflecting on the battle with Han Juok, Ise listened.

“Especially the rats of the Eastern Continent. They only ever fight by sending many against one.”

“How despicable.”

“It truly is.”

Haeil chuckled in agreement, then asked Ise,

“Ever gambled before?”

“No.”

“You’ve played Insect Ticket, the rock-paper-scissors game, haven’t you?”

“Yes. Occasionally, when I was young.”

“A great cultivator’s battle is much the same. You must assess the enemy’s strength and prepare for it. On top of that, you need a method of your own that can cut off their breath. Only when all three are in place can you be certain of victory.”

Haeil paused briefly before delivering the conclusion.

“Mongryeon is a seasoned fighter. If Bi Hyeongrang managed to subdue her, it’s only right to assume they possess a secret method capable of outmaneuvering most Core Formation Realm great cultivators.”

Ise turned those words over in his mind.

The battle with Han Juok. The battle with Ghost Lord Ancestor.

In both, Ise alone had known the enemy’s strength, prepared to some extent, and possessed a means to finish them off.

Looking back, those had indeed been battles where all three elements had aligned.

“I want to become stronger. Please guide and instruct me on how I should do so.”

Ise had no intention of neglecting cultivation.

Ise intended to advance faster than anyone, even faster than Hall Master Woo Yu-hui.

But the conventional path of raising one’s cultivation required much time.

Ise did not know whether time would wait patiently.

Until now, the Core Formation Realm great cultivators Ise had faced had all been old monsters with one foot in the grave.

Ise had forced them into close combat and fought them with a youthful body.

If Ise’s enemy had been a battle-hardened great cultivator above Ise by a minor realm boundary, Ise could not be certain of victory.

Ise wanted to learn how to win more decisively.

“If you permit me to spar in spell duels with the Hall Masters, I would like to gain experience.”

“That would be difficult. Wanting battle experience is commendable, but sparring between Core Formation Realm cultivators could easily result in a loss of primordial qi. We can’t afford to weaken our own strength.”

“Then... is there no other way?”

Noticing Ise’s earnestness, Haeil answered plainly.

“The best method is to obtain a life-bound treasure artifact or create a life-bound secret art. The previous Great Exorcist Order Lord used both to greatest effect.”

A life-bound treasure artifact, a life-bound secret art.

Ise had heard of them.

A life-bound secret art was a spell art personally developed by a great cultivator, one that only its creator could use. In other words, it was a trump card.

A life-bound treasure artifact was an artifact infused with primordial qi from its forging stage onward, bound to its owner’s soul and growing alongside them.

Neither was easy to obtain.

Creating a life-bound secret art required the talent of a grandmaster, while creating a life-bound treasure artifact required finding a spirit-artifact artisan of at least the Core Formation Realm.

The Great Exorcist Order had only one spirit-artifact artisan, and that was the famously busy Vermilion Bird Hall Master.

Ise carefully asked,

“Could I ask Hall Master Hong Mi-hee?”

“Hong Mi-hee isn’t skilled enough to make a life-bound treasure artifact. She hasn’t devoted herself to one path alone. You need to find a specialist spirit-artifact artisan.”

Hong Mi-hee was someone who had broadly trained in all Four Great Arts, pill refinement, artifact crafting, talisman crafting, and formation laying. Ise understood the Order Lord’s reasoning.

Even if she could do it, asking someone who had already helped Ise so much for even a life-bound spirit artifact would be too great a debt.

Ise looked disappointed, but Haeil remained relaxed, as though there were a solution.

“Do you have a clever method in mind?”

“I do.”

At that confident answer, it almost seemed as though a halo shone behind the Order Lord.

Haeil was indeed the Great Exorcist Order’s sole Nascent Soul Realm great cultivator, a figure with the dignity of its supreme Order Lord.

“I know a capable spirit-artifact artisan. We are close enough that they’ll grant me at least one favor. Of course, that doesn’t mean they’ll lower their fee.”

“Of course. But...”

A capable spirit-artifact artisan.

At the very least, they were not someone from the Great Exorcist Order.

Was Haeil telling Ise to seek out a great cultivator from the Zheng Empire, their sworn enemy?

Ise asked to confirm.

“Where does this person live...?”

“The Archipelago.”

“...”

In other words, Ise was being told to cross to another continent to obtain a life-bound treasure artifact.

Only a few years had passed since Ise returned from the Northern Continent. Ise had only just reached the Core Formation Realm and thought it was finally time to climb the steps toward revenge, yet now Ise had to leave home again.

Ise felt dizzy.

The vow Ise had made upon returning from the Northern Continent, never to leave home again, was rendered meaningless in an instant.

“The situation is far from stable. Can I leave my post?”

“Haha. Look at this brat. Since when did you become a Hall Master? Do you think we’ll collapse just because you’re gone?”

“But I provoked them. From what Kang Ihyeon said, they seem ready to start a war at any moment.”

“Don’t feel guilty. We calculated everything before allowing it. Besides, loud dogs don’t bite.”

Ise nodded.

In truth, the New Martial Sect was no more than a shield for the Pill Altar Sect.

They could not possibly have enough influence to move the Zheng Empire.

“Your provocation will instead serve as a deterrent. A Core Formation Realm great cultivator was assassinated without a trace. The cowards of the Zheng Empire are probably thinking this.”

“What are they thinking?”

“We’re fucked.”

Startled by that biting expression, Ise said,

“...Forgive me, but that does not seem like a word befitting your dignity, Order Lord.”

“I chose it with my dignity in mind. There are other words that suit the situation even better.”

Several vulgar expressions Ise had learned in Essence-Draining Ghost-Demon Valley flashed through Ise’s mind, and Ise shook their head.

Continuing his cultivation while obtaining a life-bound treasure artifact.

For now, that did seem to be the most reasonable course.

Still, Ise could not help worrying, so Ise cautiously asked,

“Could you share your plans for the future with me?”

“All right.”

Haeil readily agreed.

“To begin with, even including you, we are about fifty percent short of the other Zheng Empire forces’ strength.”

“...That is quite a deficit.”

“Conversely, it means that to eliminate us, at least half of them would have to die. And that is only if the enemy commits all their strength.”

Haeil added that they would never be able to commit all their strength.

“The moment war begins, the Pill Altar Sect will believe it has lost its hegemony over the Eastern Continent. Whether it wins or loses.”

“I would like to know why.”

“When those bastards tucked their tails and ran last time, I planted fear in them. I told them that if they touched us even once more, I would slaughter every great cultivator of the Pill Altar Sect first, not leaving a single one alive.”

Ise considered the weight of those words, then let out an exclamation of admiration.

That single statement would have given both the Pill Altar Sect and those who followed it reason not to commit all their strength.

It would make the Pill Altar Sect fear losing its hegemony, while giving its subordinate forces hope that they could rise above it once the war ended.

They said Haeil was hot-tempered but not foolish. The description fit Haeil perfectly.

“The first thing we must resolve is removing the blade at our throat while preserving our current strength.”

“You mean Cheoryang Thunder Gate.”

“Yes. Bi Hyeongrang is the problem. I truly didn’t know Bi Hyeongrang’s strength was this formidable. At present, I am the only one who can face Bi Hyeongrang. But if I fight Bi Hyeongrang, those Zheng Empire bastards will have more than enough time to swallow our headquarters.”

Haeil gave Ise a pointed look.

“That is why we are waiting for two things.”

One was Woo Yu-hui’s breakthrough into the Nascent Soul Realm.

The other was Ise’s growth.

“While Woo Yu-hui faces Bi Hyeongrang, you can take her place. Or you can grow strong enough to kill Bi Hyeongrang yourself. Those are the solutions we are waiting for.”

“Can Hall Master Woo Yu-hui not face Bi Hyeongrang as she is now?”

“I don’t know. To be honest, I never expected Mongryeon to be defeated, either. What do you think?”

Haeil asked in return. Ise answered awkwardly.

“I do not know, either. I did not witness their battle.”

“Then we cannot take an uncertain gamble. Neither you nor Woo Yu-hui can be lost. You are the Great Exorcist Order’s most vital forces.”

“...Yes.”

“However, if Bi Hyeongrang reaches the Nascent Soul Realm before we are ready, the situation changes. That will be the end of the Great Exorcist Order.”

Haeil’s voice dropped lower.

“If Bi Hyeongrang attempts a Nascent Soul breakthrough within our sight, I will kill them while the other Hall Masters hold back the Zheng Empire. If Bi Hyeongrang breaks through elsewhere, we must strike immediately before they stabilize their Nascent Soul Realm, even if we must risk our lives. You and Woo Yu-hui may have to join forces.”

A person who had only just crossed a major realm boundary could not yet fully control their new power, leaving openings instead. Just as Ise had.

If two Core Formation Realm great cultivators threw their lives into the fight, they might be able to exploit that brief opening.

Of course, if they were even slightly late, there would be nothing they could do.

“Then shouldn’t I all the more remain here?”

“You could see it that way. But until just before the last war, Bi Hyeongrang was in late Core Formation Realm. Bi Hyeongrang only reached completion relatively recently, so by all reason, they cannot reach the Nascent Soul Realm faster than Woo Yu-hui.”

Even before Ise appeared, Woo Yu-hui had displayed an unprecedented rate of advancement on the continent.

Haeil’s judgment was reasonable.

In theory, it was certainly so.

Yet for some reason, that explanation did not put Ise at ease. It was a discomfort whose cause Ise could not explain.

Ise honestly voiced his unease.

“I do not think that is enough.”

“I know what you are worried about. Still, we have sealed off and watched the area around Gwisu Temple as closely as possible, so it will be difficult for Bi Hyeongrang to break through as well. What else can we do? For now, we have no choice but to trust the judgment of Itae, who drew up the overall plan.”

“Is there any chance that another faction could produce a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator first?”

Haeil muttered, “This one sure has a lot of questions,” then shook his head.

“There is no talent capable of it, nor the environment to produce one. The Pill Altar Sect exhausted all its sect resources to raise its Sect Leader into the Nascent Soul Realm, and the Pill Altar Sect Leader will not stand by and watch a Nascent Soul Realm great cultivator emerge from another sect.”

The Pill Altar Sect would sooner lose to the Great Exorcist Order than hand control over to another sect of the Zheng Empire.

At last, Ise understood.

It meant they had secured some measure of time.

Peace flowed across the continent, but beneath its surface, nothing was quiet.

Careful calculations and hidden intentions were becoming tangled together, each side seeking to upset the balance and seize hegemony.

“How much time do you estimate?”

“Thirty years for Woo Yu-hui, fifty for Bi Hyeongrang. Still, we should hurry just in case. Your destination is clear, so if you are inclined, go and return as quickly as possible. I am not forcing you. You could develop a life-bound secret art first.”

“I will consider it.”

“Good. We are also watching their movements closely and laying out strategies two and three deep, so find your own means.”

Ise bowed respectfully, then slowly walked away from Haeil.

After returning to his residence, Ise fell into thought.

A life-bound treasure artifact, a life-bound secret art...

Should Ise cross to the Archipelago and obtain a life-bound treasure artifact?

Or remain here and forge a life-bound secret art unique to Ise?

Neither path would be easy.

But one thing was certain.

For now, Ise was still lacking.

‘I’m thirsty.’

Had Ise’s thirst remained even after reaching the Core Formation Realm simply because Ise was impatient?

Honestly, Ise could say it was not.

Apart from revenge, Ise wanted to rise faster and reach higher places.

It was a kind of aspiration for growth.

Above all, Ise did not want to leave Bi Hyeongrang’s fate in someone else’s hands.

Not even in the hands of a former superior Ise respected deeply.

Ise had not the slightest intention of yielding their prey.

Ise’s eyes blazed as though they had caught fire.

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