WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
Episode 14: Rapid Changes in the Continental Situation (3)
──────
“...I don't know.”
It was a question Ise found difficult to accept.
Even objectively speaking, he thought there was nothing particularly wrong with his personality.
“Either way, I understand that it’s a dangerous power at your realm. Don't handle it carelessly until you're used to it.”
“Yes, Cultivator Gwak.”
Ise answered as if committing the warning to heart, then withdrew the light.
“By the way, you really did a number on this place. The repair bill won't be small. You know cultivation room walls are expensive, right?”
“...”
Ise looked as though the sky had fallen, and Gwak Chan burst into hearty laughter.
“Well then, I'll see you around. It was good meeting you, Ise.”
“Ah, Cultivator Gwak. May I ask you something?”
Ise called out to Gwak Chan as he turned to leave after saying goodbye.
Gwak Chan shrugged and turned back.
“What is Winged Dragon Hall like?”
“You haven't chosen an affiliation yet? Just come to Winged Dragon Hall. It's good.”
“I heard that once I choose one, I'll have to remain with it all the way to the Core Formation Realm. What makes it good?”
“You're already aiming for the Core Formation Realm? Well, with talent like yours, that makes sense. Let's see... Its strengths? The Hall Master is cute?”
“...”
“Ha ha ha! Isn't she cute? And, hmm. In one word, Winged Dragon Hall is free.”
Free. Ise focused on the resonance of that word.
“There are no rules, no restrictions, no support, and no one seems to think about much of anything. The Hall Master herself is freedom incarnate.”
Ise nodded up and down in agreement. It was exactly the impression he had received.
For some reason, it didn't sound bad.
“Honestly, we're a neutral faction, so we don't care much whether anyone comes or goes. The others are a little... well, how should I put it? Like that.”
“What are the others like?”
Gwak Chan asked Ise what role he wanted, and Ise answered that he wanted to hold the front line in wartime.
“Then there aren't many candidates. First, Black Tortoise Hall is always going on about purebloods. They become sworn fellow disciples and call each other senior brother or junior brother based on their realms. The funny thing is that the person who was your senior brother yesterday can become your junior brother today. What kind of ridiculous family tree is that?”
“Sounds like a normal cultivation world to me.”
“That is true,” Gwak Chan agreed.
“Hooked Array Hall is made up of cultivators of spirit beast descent, so you don't meet the requirements. Phoenix Hall is too individualistic. They have very little respect for the Chief Master, so whenever someone causes trouble, guessing Phoenix Hall first is almost always right. Black Tortoise Hall comes second.”
Gwak Chan continued, counting on his fingers.
“If I had to recommend somewhere other than us, it would be White Tiger Hall. Hall Master Ahsan is a fine person, but the rules are extremely strict, and there is group training, so you have less time for individual cultivation. Still, it isn't bad if you want to properly learn weapon techniques.”
“I see.”
“Anyway, if you want to be assigned to the front line in wartime and haven't learned any special art, there is nowhere as good as Winged Dragon Hall. Haven't you received recruitment offers from anywhere else?”
“No. Not really.”
At Ise's answer, Gwak Chan muttered, “That can't be right.”
Then he tilted his head as if he understood.
“Speak of the tiger, and it arrives. It seems word has finally reached them.”
Soon, someone approaching entered Ise's divine sense as well.
A female Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator walked in through the broken wall.
“Talking behind other Inner Halls' backs. You're still as frivolous as ever.”
“Behind their backs? I'm passing along information. This is Jang Yeowon, my fellow entry disciple. She's with White Tiger Hall.”
“Hello, Cultivator Jang.”
Ise greeted Jang Yeowon. She gave a small nod, then immediately got to the point.
“I was sent by Ahsan Great Cultivator, White Tiger Hall Master. He wishes to recruit you.”
“Ah...”
“He said he would give you personal instruction for a time to satisfy your desire to advance.”
“I see.”
When Ise looked at Gwak Chan, he only shrugged.
Then another cultivator walked in through the hole in the wall.
“What is this? Why is the wall broken? Hey there, is Cultivator Ise here? I've come from Phoenix Hall.”
The cultivator from Phoenix Hall flinched upon seeing Gwak Chan and Jang Yeowon.
“My seniors are here as well. Am I too late?”
“No. You're not late.”
That was not the end of it.
A middle-aged man flew in from somewhere, landed on the ground, and walked through the broken wall.
There was a perfectly good door, so Ise had no idea why everyone was entering through the wall.
The three cultivators froze at once when they recognized the newcomer.
“Greetings, Hall Master of Black Tortoise Hall.”
“You came personally, Hall Master?”
As the three bowed to the man, Ise hurriedly followed suit.
Seolbaek, the Hall Master of Black Tortoise Hall.
The peak of the pureblood cultivators had come to find him in person.
The other cultivators stepped back after showing their respect, and Seolbaek slowly approached.
“Cultivator Ise.”
“Yes, Hall Master.”
“I won't waste words. Come to Black Tortoise Hall.”
Ise hesitated for a moment.
Then he mentioned the point troubling him.
“But I heard Black Tortoise Hall only accepts pureblood cultivators.”
“Take a dual-cultivation Dao companion among headquarters' pureblood cultivators and unite your bloodline with theirs. Then we will give you a sturdy shelter with generous support beyond anything you have known.”
“...”
Ise couldn't continue. For some reason, the offer left him feeling overwhelmed.
* * *
After being hounded by cultivators, Ise immediately headed for the Chief Master's office.
At this rate, he would waste his days receiving visitors instead of cultivating.
The moment he saw Chief Master Sugyeom, Ise declared as though shouting.
“I've decided, Chief Master. I'm going to Winged Dragon Hall.”
“If you go to the Registry Pavilion, they will issue you a new identity token.”
As if he had expected it, Chief Master Sugyeom answered without even looking at Ise or asking for a reason.
“...”
Ise bowed and withdrew.
After receiving a new identity token from the Registry Pavilion, he organized the tasks ahead of him.
The most urgent matter was rearming himself.
He had to replace his lost hatchet and shield, as well as acquire a Foundation Establishment Realm spirit artifact. Most importantly, he needed something that could deal with primordial qi.
He also needed to learn as many new cultivation methods and spell arts as possible.
He had to visit Woo Yu-hui, the Winged Dragon Hall Master who had become his direct superior, and greet her as well.
‘Busy, busy.’
To deal with the most urgent matter first, Ise headed for the Mission Pavilion.
He planned to have a hatchet made from the ore he had obtained in the Dark Heaven Secret Realm.
The moment he entered the Mission Pavilion, he was guided to Cultivator Guk, a Foundation Establishment Realm official, without waiting in line.
The preferential treatment at headquarters was as consistent as ever.
Cultivator Guk studied the ore Ise offered from every angle, then asked with interest, “Having a weapon made from ore obtained in the Dark Heaven Secret Realm. Since a Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator will use it, you will need a spirit-artifact artisan at the Foundation Establishment Realm or above. How much are you offering, Cultivator Ise?”
“Could the price be negotiated during the interview?”
“You have a bad habit of making unfunny jokes.”
It wasn't a joke...
At this point, Ise wondered whether the problem might be him, since everyone seemed to think he was joking.
“Could you tell me an appropriate price? This is my first time posting a commission.”
“A Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator's commission starts at a minimum of one hundred Spiritual Stones, but spirit-artifact artisans are scarce enough that you should offer around a thousand. Still, there may be eccentrics who would go wild over a new mineral, so I recommend starting at five hundred and raising the price if you cannot find anyone.”
“I'll do that.”
For the first time, Ise posted a commission at the Mission Pavilion. Then he entrusted the Yellow Great Parasol to Seolryeong for repairs and sold the Ninefold Cauldron Furnace obtained from the secret realm to Hong Wonseo for two hundred Spiritual Stones.
Seeing Hong Wonseo openly pleased for once made him regret selling it so cheaply, but he decided to think of it as an investment.
‘Next, I need to choose cultivation methods and spell arts... Should I ask Cultivator Gwak?’
He still had plenty of Spiritual Stones, but Foundation Establishment Realm secret manuals were expensive.
Buying things carelessly would leave him bankrupt, so Ise decided to seek a senior's help.
That evening.
Ise set down the jade slip containing the Soul-Return Body-Entering Art.
Now that he had accumulated basic knowledge about immortal cultivation, he could understand this cultivation method to some extent.
It was a cultivation method that allowed a great cultivator at the Core Formation Realm or above who had lost their body to place their Golden Core or Nascent Soul into another body.
At least within the Human Realm, the only known way for a spirit body to regain a lost physical body was the body seizure art of the demonic path.
Even that required both parties to be intact. It involved pulling the soul from a living human and taking their body.
The Soul-Return Body-Entering Art, however, could place a soul into a combat puppet or an artifact-soul body even if no suitable body was available. It could also restore a soul even when a Golden Core or Nascent Soul had been separated from its body for so long that its intelligence had begun to fade.
It was an unfathomable cultivation method that could even transfer another person's soul, not just the user's own.
‘The cultivation methods of the Upper Realm truly go beyond imagination.’
He had no idea what realm was needed to learn it, but he was certain it required at least the Core Formation Realm.
After finishing his initial interpretation of the Soul-Return Body-Entering Art, he began reading the list of recommended cultivation method and spell art manuals that Cultivator Gwak had given him.
‘What should I learn?’
New knowledge, new techniques, new power.
Every one of them filled him with excitement.
Ise's eyes shone as brightly as a child's.
* * *
Suari. Jinju Castle.
Kkeoksoe, an enslaved worker in Hwaru Ward, entered the dark pleasure house to clean the courtesans' rooms.
By its nature, the lights in this place did not go out until the first light of dawn.
Working with his days and nights reversed was nothing unusual for him.
Drip. Drip.
“What was that?”
He heard something like water droplets falling from somewhere. Then rain began to fall.
The sky had not even been cloudy that day. He had no idea why it was raining at dawn.
Drip. Drip.
Yet something was strange.
An odd dripping sound was mixed in with the gentle patter of the rain.
Drip.
Kkeoksoe raised his head when a droplet wet his forehead.
‘Is the roof leaking?’
But the liquid running down from the top of his head smelled strange. It was fishy and sticky.
‘Blood?’
Blood dripped from the ceiling beam.
He looked up, wondering what was happening.
There was nothing there.
The blood began to pour down like a waterfall.
It soaked the dirt floor.
Then a severed arm fell with a thud.
Kkeoksoe fell backward, too frightened even to scream.
Next came a leg, a torso, and a head, one after another.
What in the world was happening?
He wondered if he was dreaming.
Trembling, Kkeoksoe scooted backward on the ground.
The pieces of the human body quietly found their places on the dirt floor.
The body parts joined together, and a naked woman rose to her feet.
“G-g-g-ghost...!”
Her skin was white as jade, and her body was impossibly slender.
Her eyes held nothing but bloodless whites.
Crack. Crack.
Her limbs moved grotesquely like a puppet in a puppet show. Then the woman's head snapped crookedly to one side, and she rushed at him.
Crackcrackcrackcrackcrackcrackcrackcrackcrackcrack.
A scream rang through Hwaru Ward.
Footnotes:
Join our discord at https://dsc.gg/wetried
