WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR
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Chapter 180
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Two people faced each other in the communal sparring arena.
‘It’s been a while since I was here.’
There were not many occasions to spar within the main headquarters. The last time he had come was to train the Dine and Go staff.
Word had apparently already spread. Divine senses stretched out from all around, lingering as though watching a spectacle.
Even the Hall Masters and Order Lord Haeil had extended their divine senses.
They were probably waiting gleefully for the sparring match.
‘You all have terrible hobbies.’
Ignoring them as best he could, Ise asked Woo Yu-hui,
“Will one exchange be enough?”
“Yes.”
A clash between great cultivators was dangerous enough to cause a loss of primordial qi.
There was no need to trade blows for long. Exchanging their finest moves once would be enough.
Ise stepped back half a pace and gripped Yeowol.
“Please make the first move.”
Rather than ask why, Woo Yu-hui unleashed her signature spell art.
Golden swords rose around her.
In an instant, hundreds of swords densely filled the air.
Every sword contained primordial qi, dyeing the entire sparring arena gold.
It was a spell art so imposing that Ise’s body trembled and his fingertips tingled.
Woo Yu-hui spoke with concern.
“Be careful.”
“Yes.”
Without any warning, the swords flashed out of sight.
Then they appeared directly before him.
It was an attack as though they had crossed space itself.
Hundreds of swords flew at him from every direction, leaving him neither room to evade nor time to defend.
His body moved before his thoughts did.
Yeowol swung out on instinct, striking the rain of sword attacks.
His first priority was to stop the attacks aimed at his neck and Golden Core.
The moment they collided, Woo Yu-hui’s primordial qi flowed from the swords into his hatchet like water drawn into a whirlpool.
Some of the attacks he failed to absorb completely were stopped by his defensive spell arts. Some were repelled by the Golden-Needle Ring. The rest embedded themselves throughout his body.
The moment he judged that none of the wounds were fatal, he added his own primordial qi to the power he had consumed and sent it back.
A savage force split the sparring arena.
It was not even a spell art, merely raw primordial qi spread wide enough to cover the sky.
That mass of primordial qi crashed down upon Woo Yu-hui.
It was a brutally simple blow, spread so broadly that there was nowhere to evade.
Woo Yu-hui’s unfiltered shock flowed into Ise’s mind from behind her mask.
She hurriedly cast her strongest defensive spell art, and the two powers ground against each other.
The tremendous impact shook the earth, and a boom rang out.
A cloud of dust surged up and filled the sparring arena.
A moment later, the dust raised by the collision settled.
Woo Yu-hui lay on the ground, staring blankly.
One of her shoulders had been completely blown away.
“...That’s impossible.”
She muttered to herself.
The Azure Dragon Hall Master had clearly defended first, then counterattacked before she had time to prepare an attack of her own.
But what was that terrifying power?
It was not something that could be displayed in such a short time.
That incomprehensible strike even made her feel fear.
It was an emotion she had never experienced before.
“I lost.”
It was Ise who admitted defeat. Woo Yu-hui rose, her empty sleeve fluttering as if she had no objection.
Only then did a red line appear around Ise’s neck like a necklace.
“I definitely blocked every attack aimed at my neck, and I didn’t sense any other spell art at all... How did you do that?”
Almost half the circumference of his neck had been cut through.
If she had truly wanted to cut him down, his head would have come off. She had merely held back to avoid wasting primordial qi.
A great cultivator would not die just because their head was cut off.
But in a fight at this level, having one’s neck severed meant falling to the next move before one could finish regenerating.
The result was obvious. One shoulder against one neck. There was no need to see how the battle would continue.
“Secret.”
Woo Yu-hui answered shortly, then froze as she looked down at her shoulder.
“This is strange. It won’t regenerate.”
“...What?”
She repeatedly cast the Regeneration Art on the empty shoulder, but it was useless.
Ise hurried over and used his own spell arts, but the result was the same. Even giving her a Regeneration Pellet did nothing.
‘Don’t tell me.’
Traces of his primordial qi seemed to remain along the severed surface, hindering her recovery.
Only then did he realize it.
Yeowol also possessed the ability to interfere with an opponent’s recovery arts.
They had said that an entire fragment of the Abyssal Mole-Mouse’s Golden Core had been ground into it. Its dreadful ability had apparently seeped into the weapon intact.
He felt sorry for the flustered Hall Master Woo Yu-hui, but Ise could not suppress a broad grin.
“Don’t smile like a demonic cultivator.”
“Ah, my apologies.”
He quickly composed himself and added,
“It seems to be a secondary effect of this weapon. If you slowly drive out the traces of my primordial qi over time, it should recover.”
He had experienced that unfairness himself on Ilgwang Island.
Now that same hopelessness belonged to his weapon.
It could catch anyone off guard.
Great cultivators all learned recovery arts as a matter of course.
Fighting with the confidence that they could heal if necessary was the most basic principle.
As a result, battles between great cultivators often became tedious wars of attrition, with both sides avoiding fatal wounds, healing, and wounding each other again.
They would continue their boring tactical calculations until their fates were decided by a single unexpected winning stroke.
That was how great cultivators fought.
But if one could not recover, especially without knowing it beforehand...
An enemy who meant to accept a wound in exchange for a killing blow would instead drive themselves toward death.
Even if the opponent knew of the ability, a battle where every small wound accumulated would be a burden in itself.
‘Excellent.’
Ise’s impression of Yeowol was brief.
It also shattered some of his preconceptions about battles between great cultivators.
Perhaps other great cultivators had a means of preventing an opponent’s recovery as well.
Ise decided he would be more careful about fighting with blind faith in the Regeneration Art from now on.
“Are you all right?”
“No.”
Woo Yu-hui was silent for a long while. She seemed to be turning over the threatening ability Yeowol had displayed.
Her gaze from behind the mask turned toward Yeowol. It was an openly covetous look.
“Why are you looking at it like that?”
“...”
“Do you want it?”
“Yes.”
“But it is precious to me as well.”
Her face fell.
Ise burst out laughing at her reaction, which did not even try to hide her disappointment.
“I’m jealous.”
“For a great cultivator, having at least one life-bound treasure artifact is standard.”
Now that they had grown close enough to joke naturally, Woo Yu-hui stomped her foot. The ground split with a crack.
“...When I reach the Nascent Soul Realm and kill Bi Hyeongrang, I should go find a life-bound treasure artifact too.”
Ise had no intention whatsoever of yielding Bi Hyeongrang’s head, but he did not bother to say so.
Instead, he only told her the news she needed to know.
“You should hurry. The master artisan has only about thirty years left to live.”
“What?”
A few of her fingers folded and unfolded. She seemed to be doing the calculation.
“In my view, the preparations are already enough. I don’t know why they keep delaying. Is there no way to lure them out?”
“If they do not come out first, I doubt there is any way to draw them out... They must have their reasons.”
Ise did not claim he could defeat Bi Hyeongrang right now.
But if they fought, he was fully resolved to burn everything he possessed to cut off Bi Hyeongrang’s head and hang it in the heart of Gwisu Temple.
In any case, both the Chief and the Order Lord had watched this sparring match. They would assess his strength and the situation.
He would leave the judgment to his superiors. All he could do was hone himself into their blade.
Ise waved a hand through the air.
“Would you withdraw these underhanded divine senses already?”
Only then did the divine senses stealthily spread throughout the sparring arena withdraw one after another in embarrassment.
* * *
Buchun and Park Gangseo gathered at Dine and Go after receiving Ise’s letter.
“Cultivator Bu, I heard you found a fortuitous encounter. Did you enjoy going off on an expedition while leaving only me behind?”
Park Gangseo complained the moment he saw Ise.
“It was fun.”
“I’ve been far too busy, even with ten bodies.”
“For someone so busy, you raised your realm quite nicely.”
While Ise had been away, Park Gangseo had crossed a minor realm boundary and reached the late Qi Condensation Realm.
At this rate, he could even aim for the Foundation Establishment Realm.
Considering that he possessed five spiritual roots, his comprehension was certainly excellent.
Smiling, Ise accepted the report.
The ledgers were filled with records of Park Gangseo managing Dine and Go, the orphanage, and Azure Dragon Hall’s facilities in the meantime.
The neat accounts had income and expenses matching down to the last coin.
“You worked hard.”
“Ha ha. Not at all. Hearing you say that makes all my fatigue melt away... It is truly rewarding.”
“Buchun, take out a mid-grade Qi-Condensing Pellet from Dine and Go’s stock and give it to Gangseo. It is a reward.”
“What? Really?”
Park Gangseo’s eyes widened at Ise’s decision.
No matter how close someone was to him or how trusted a subordinate they were, Ise did not give things away without receiving something in return.
It was not that he was stingy. That was simply the culture of the cultivation world.
Fair compensation for fair work.
Resources and fortuitous encounters had to be earned for oneself.
Ise did not permit even a single Spiritual Stone to anyone who coveted his possessions without permission.
But when it came to his household and trusted hands, so long as they did not become dependent on him for everything, he had both the means and willingness to provide what they needed.
That was Ise’s current position and the power he possessed.
For him, immortal cultivation was the process of gaining that power and freedom.
“I give proper compensation for the work you do for me. That is all. Because you managed the internal affairs, I was able to handle my work without concern. It is fitting compensation, so accept it comfortably.”
Park Gangseo blinked, then soon bowed deeply to Ise with a serious expression.
Park Gangseo suddenly thought that the man before him was beginning to possess the bearing of a great cultivator.
At times, Ise was approachable like a friend, and his words and actions were more casual than those of other great cultivators.
Yet he could not conceal the weight that instinctively radiated from him.
Several decades had passed since Park Gangseo had volunteered to serve as Ise’s right hand. Ise was a lord for whom those years had not been wasted.
“Yes. Thank you, Hall Master. I will cultivate diligently so that the resources you have granted me will not be wasted.”
“Good.”
Ise raised a hand, then turned to Buchun.
“From now on, Bisang will be in charge of providing immortal cuisine for Dine and Go.”
“Senior Bisang?”
Buchun’s eyes moved to Bisang.
Bisang’s short stature and limbs looked far too small for cooking.
The ends of Bisang’s wings had been changed into human hands, and they clenched and unclenched eagerly. At least the enthusiasm was overflowing.
Reading Buchun’s concern, Ise sighed.
“Put a footstool in the kitchen or something... That is how it ended up. I’m asking you to make it work.”
“They say spirit creatures all have distinctive personalities. Please do not worry about it.”
“You are working hard to make it sound nice.”
“Ha ha... I will commission tools suitable for Bisang’s current form. Let me show Bisang to the workshop.”
Ise gestured toward the delighted Bisang.
“If someone has done you a favor, you should thank them.”
“Thank you, Buchun.”
Ise was about to send his subordinates away when Park Gangseo slipped in a comment.
“Oh, there is a request for a guidance consultation.”
“What guidance consultation?”
“The special privilege that allows the first and second place finishers in the entrance examination to receive a day of a great cultivator’s time. Do you remember?”
“I remember.”
It had been a long time since he had heard about that.
He had received the same privilege when he took the entrance examination, and that was how he had met Order Lord Haeil.
“This year’s top entry disciple chose you, Hall Master, and requested guidance.”
“Me? Why?”
“It is one of the children you took in.”
At Park Gangseo’s words, Ise let out a small sound of realization.
The child must have wanted to meet the person who had taken them in at least once.
He felt strangely proud that one of the children he had personally taken in had become the top disciple.
“Who is it?”
“A girl named Hyemi. You rescued her in Sorok County.”
Ise quickly searched his memories and recalled the child with whom he had eaten rice soup.
“I remember. But she was a complete baby then. Has she grown that much already?”
“That was ten years ago. Children grow quickly.”
“I really do not notice time passing. She was the top disciple? She must have worked hard.”
“Yes. She is the youngest of the children you took in. They have all become proper Great Exorcist Order Daoists.”
“I feel a little sorry. I took them in, yet I have not shown my face even once.”
“They all understand how busy you are. I told them that if they wanted to see you, they should earn at least second place. The youngest simply managed it.”
Park Gangseo chuckled as he went on about the children.
Ise had plenty to do, but he patiently listened to Park Gangseo’s unusually excited stories.
“With my permission, those children have Dine and Go’s badge sewn onto their Daoist robes. If you happen to see them, please offer them a word of encouragement.”
“Why are they wearing something like that? They will look like tavern employees.”
Dine and Go’s badge was a spoon placed atop a rice bowl. It was a design Ise had drawn himself when he was an entry disciple.
Were they really wearing such an unstylish badge on their robes?
“I will permit it, so draw an Azure Dragon on the rice bowl or something. At least make it look cool.”
“Ha ha. I will.”
Ise thought that Park Gangseo seemed to find his role as an instructor quite rewarding.
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