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◈ Xianxia Cultivation with a Dragon Heart ◈

Chapter 44: A New Source of Karma

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He had expected from the start that he would probably die quickly. That was why he had not even considered taking Muyong with him.

But that did not mean he had been completely free of greed.

'What if there was even the slightest chance of obtaining the heart of the greatest and most powerful dragon I could encounter...?'

His wishful thought that there might be even the tiniest opening was shattered once again. He had not expected to die without feeling a thing just because it appeared and spoke a single sentence.

Still.

Having once watched a Spirit Transformation Stage cultivator fight at Thousand Origin City, he could roughly estimate the strength of the dragon he had just witnessed.

'At the very least, it was Integration Stage-level.'

In truth, that estimate alone meant he had achieved the minimum purpose of this visit to another world. He had seen the upper limit of the dragon race.

'Their innate potential does not have to be high, but naturally, higher is better.'

The most important matter in the Outer Core Method was whether the vessel had reached at least the Nascent Soul Stage. The vessel needed to have undergone that level of qualitative change to avoid problems when the cultivator later conceived a Nascent Soul.

If its innate potential was high as well, he could enjoy additional benefits. For example, as he had read in Essentials of Cultivation Realms, he might gain special divine abilities and a unique physique.

'In other words, I only need to obtain the heart of a Nascent Soul Stage dragon.'

That would leave him no worse off than those who had attained the True Core Method, while allowing him to enjoy a few minor benefits.

'And if I somehow managed to obtain a Spirit Transformation Stage heart...'

Then he would surpass those who had attained the True Core Method by a wide margin, along with gaining several major benefits.

'And if, by some miracle, I obtained an Integration Stage heart...'

His fantasy kept escalating.

Han Yujin shook his head to clear it and left the Waiting Area with an inward laugh.

Even if incredible luck allowed him to somehow obtain an Integration Stage heart, he obviously would not be able to afford the Karma needed to bring it into reality.

There was no point considering a plan to somehow hold out until he had accumulated that much Karma. Reality did not leave him that much room.

The end he had confirmed was ten years away, but he might have to accomplish something much sooner to stop it. It would be a disaster if he relaxed for no reason, only to suddenly realize he was already like a truck with failed brakes racing downhill.

Therefore, the highest realistic goal was a Spirit Transformation Stage Dragon Heart.

'Still, Karma is the problem.'

With a sigh, he opened his eyes on the bed and sat up. Muyong, sleeping beside him, woke up by accident and yawned.

"Let's go."

As he spoke, he picked up the still-drowsy Muyong.

Where they were going was obvious. He was going to carry out the clearing operation today and earn Karma.

* * *

Fwoooosh!

Fist-sized creatures, somewhere between mosquitoes and bees, burned and fell in heaps where two Fire Spirit Birds shot past like arrows.

While those two swept through the area, the other two Fire Spirit Birds were burning the enormous tree that housed the creatures' nest to ashes.

Buzzz!

The wingbeats of the monstrous insects sounded desperate. Some seemed to possess a measure of intelligence, for they recognized Han Yujin as the cause of this disaster and launched what appeared to be lethal attacks at him.

Naturally, none of it mattered. Wrapped in Violet-Gold Radiance, Han Yujin had enough leisure to devote more than half his attention to other thoughts.

'The Karma I receive for killing each monster averages... To earn as much Karma as I got from that tip about the cultists...'

At least four thousand monsters, perhaps as many as five thousand.

It sounded like an enormous number, but considering that he had killed around two or three hundred yesterday, it could be filled surprisingly quickly.

The Wave had been a special circumstance, so it would be difficult to kill that many every day. Still, about a month should be enough.

'If obtaining a Nascent Soul Stage Dragon Heart requires as much Karma as a Heaven-Connecting Spirit Treasure...'

Han Yujin detonated one Fire Spirit Bird and created another, shaking his head.

It would likely take at least half a year. With that much time, even a small error could make the result fluctuate greatly, so trying to estimate it now was meaningless.

Moreover, the Karma cost of Harvest Selection was not fixed. Even for the same item, its usefulness could differ drastically depending on his circumstances and level.

'Right. Even if it takes a year or two instead of half a year, that is not long at all.'

If someone promised a cultivator in the cultivation world, "Endure hardship for one or two years and I will give you the inner core of a Nascent Soul Stage Yao Tribe member," the overwhelming majority would rush in eagerly. It would not be strange if they foamed at the mouth like rabid dogs.

Besides Hunter work, he had another means of earning Karma.

Distributing knowledge.

He had heard it would take several months, but he could wait that long.

He had considered it when first planning the matter. Releasing knowledge online in a rush would only be a loss.

Given the nature of the internet, where all kinds of garbage information overflowed and distortion was easy, there was no guarantee that the knowledge he released would spread properly. If he made money through licensing contracts, he could later use it for some activity that earned more Karma.

So there was no way to hurry any further.

'Don't be too impatient. Everything in life has steps that must be taken one at a time.'

Steadying his mind, he continued his slaughter.

It truly was slaughter. He had little intention of carefully claiming credit for his achievements. Even if he did not fight for every bit of recognition, the special task force following behind would surely record it all.

A few hours later.

After moving through the area while mercilessly burning every kind of monster he encountered to death, he arrived near the Level 7 mana stone open-pit mine.

There, he happened to encounter twenty members of a mining team urgently transporting resources that had been extracted earlier.

"Uh...?"

"Hunter Han Yujin? Is that right?"

Each wore a backpack as they pulled a cart with a somewhat unusual structure. Somehow, they recognized Han Yujin immediately.

"Yes. How did you know?"

He was not even using the Wind Escape Art or controlling Fire Spirit Birds. How had they recognized him from his appearance alone?

The answer was Muyong, whom he held in his arms.

"Well... we heard you travel around with a pet..."

"Ah."

Even he had to admit it was distinctive enough for rumors to spread quickly.

'I haven't become known as a bit of a lunatic, have I?'

Reflexively stroking Muyong's head, Han Yujin's gaze drifted toward the cart pulled by the mining team.

Come to think of it, this was his first time seeing mana stones, or Spirit Stones, like this.

"May I take a look for a moment?"

"Of course."

Though he knew it was rude, he began examining the mana stones. They were intermediate-grade rather than low-grade, making it even harder to resist.

The mana stones varied in shape, but their volumes were all roughly the size of eggs. Since they formed through principles entirely different from ordinary ores, they were all like this from the moment of mining.

They were pale gray, and if he watched closely, something like clouds seemed to drift within them. Every so often, they gave off rainbow-colored light, creating a rather enchanting impression. That was likely because they were intermediate-grade.

As he held an intermediate Spirit Stone and studied it closely.

'Huh...?'

Unable to resist a strange, mysterious new sensation that suddenly came over him, he activated it.

The Spirit Stone immediately crumbled away completely like dust.

"Uh...?"

"W-What...?"

The mining team stared in shock. Their mission was to transport these Level 7 mana stones safely to the fortress outpost. The fact that they had moved out even before the Wave cleanup was complete showed how important the task was.

"Oh, I'm sorry."

Han Yujin apologized immediately, but his eyes burned as he looked at the remaining mana stones in the cart.

"Please deduct the mana stone I damaged from my merits."

"N-No, one is nothing. It could be lost during a mission, after all."

"I have a question. Can Hunters purchase these mana stones with merits?"

"Pardon?"

The mining team reacted as though they had never considered such a possibility.

When even cultivation was done through rough trial and error, there was no way individual Hunters could know how to use mana stones. To Hunters, mana stones were merely extremely important and expensive industrial resources.

But that was not the case for Han Yujin, a cultivator.

Especially not after considering the new use he had just discovered upon encountering a Spirit Stone for the first time.

'I can convert Spirit Stones into Karma...!'

It was a truly shocking fact, and it felt like a new breakthrough.

At this very moment, he had found a proper use for the money he would earn through Hunter work and royalties from distributing knowledge.

* * *

Han Yujin worked very hard to kill monsters again today. He looked as though he were avenging his parents' murder.

Naturally, this was nothing but good news for the Pioneer Corps, so his reputation had likely risen another great deal.

If Park Seryong were still openly opposing Han Yujin, these objective accomplishments alone would make Park Seryong feel considerably threatened.

'Though it's probably similar even now.'

As long as Park Seryong's power-oriented values did not change, the broader Han Yujin's position became, the greater the possibility that their relationship would sour. In many cases, people could not make their reason and emotions agree.

'Still, they'll realize it on their own with time. That I truly have no interest in power.'

Han Yujin only hoped Park Seryong would not indulge in fantasies alone and become consumed by paranoid suspicion. Park Seryong would continue to be quite useful, as today's conversation about mana stones had shown.

Han Yujin hoped their current cooperative relationship would remain intact. It was then, when he returned to his lodgings, that his eyes narrowed slightly and he activated the Object Manipulation Art.

A small paper card, inconspicuously inserted into the gap in his door, was immediately pulled free and caught in his hand.

- We invite you into a new and great order. Neo Dominion.

A QR code was printed on one side of the small card, whether it was a business card or something else. After making various deductions in a short time with the intellect of a Dharma Soul Stage cultivator, Han Yujin snickered.

'How utterly typical.'

Still, it was the sort of secret organization that would be stranger if it did not exist.

How could there not be people who believed that, having awakened superpowers, they were plainly superior to the countless ordinary people around them, and who harbored the ambition that they should rightfully rise to become society's ruling class?

Considering they had dared to insert such a card into the door of his heavily secured room, it did not seem to be a completely toothless organization.

Naturally, Han Yujin had no interest in it.

'I want to drag them all in and show them the world beyond their little pond, just like I did with Park Seryong.'

Thinking of those people, who would be lucky not to wet themselves before Wonhui, giving themselves a grand name like Neo Dominion and feeling satisfied with it, was simply laughable.

'There can't be S-Rank Hunters like Choi Gangbaek or Park Seryong in this organization, can there?'

It was possible that this organization had spread not only through South Korea, but other countries as well. If he used the printed QR code, he could likely establish some point of contact and learn rough details about them, but...

'I should hand it over to the Special Ability Management Bureau.'

He could hand this sort of troublesome matter to the government agency with which he had signed a management support contract. It would then be passed to the National Intelligence Service for a proper investigation.

He had no spare time to play with such small fry.

However, when he entered the room and prepared to use his awakening ability again today, the fact that they had reached his door bothered him. Divine Sense confirmed that they had left no traces of entering farther inside, but that did not change the fact that they had reached it in the first place.

'These bastards, seriously.'

Since it was a high-quality room for important figures, the door was solid and not flimsy in the slightest. As it was underground in a fortress, there were no thin walls or windows that could be easily passed through.

Even so, there was no guarantee that they would not try something next time.

Once they saw that their target did not respond, they might do something irritating in order to prove their power.

'I was originally going to explore a world with dragons whose hearts I might be able to obtain...'

For now, securing a safe place to use his awakening ability seemed more urgent.

All he needed to do was sleep and wake up one more time, but subjectively it would take far longer than that, which quietly irritated him.

He calmed himself by petting Muyong for a while. The power of animal therapy was truly great. Simply feeding her spirit liquid wine and watching her made him feel much better.

Afterward, he lay on the bed with the intention of going to Thousand Origin City.

He planned to attend a Formation Array Arts lecture, which would be perfect for securing his safety.

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