WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Dionysus
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◈ Xianxia Cultivation with a Dragon Heart ◈
Chapter 54: Lee Wonhui, a Heavenly Spiritual Root Holder
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There was, of course, nothing he could choose as a harvest.
If he had collected the fruit from those Planet of the Apes bastards beforehand, perhaps. Even then, he probably would not have bothered bringing it back to reality.
There was no reason to linger in the Waiting Area, but...
Han Yujin stood stiffly, glaring into the empty void. Then he suddenly gave a short, hollow laugh.
Only after he had fully calmed his emotions did he leave the Waiting Area.
The first thing he did after waking up in his bed was check on Muyong.
She had jolted awake and looked confused and wary. The sight naturally made him want to stroke her.
“You little brat... I saw your loyalty. It wasn't much use, though.”
Muyong might have Entry Stage abilities, but she was still merely a beast imbued with spiritual energy. Her intelligence was not particularly high.
In other words, her sacrifice could only have been a heartfelt act.
Truly moving.
Squeak! Squeeeak!
“There, there. You got scared, huh?”
Squeak!
“Everything's fine now, so don't worry. Nothing like that will happen in reality.”
As he stroked her head and kneaded her small cheeks, Han Yujin spoke in a slightly sinister tone.
“We just need to put that bear bastard on the revenge list. Honestly, it worked out well. Once I reach the Core Formation Stage, I can take that bastard down and use it as material for a Dharma Treasure.”
He had not decided for certain yet, but he planned to make his Dharma Treasure similar to the Five Elements Bracelet. Rather than giving it a direct offensive or defensive effect, he wanted something that supported his spells.
He could easily acquire all kinds of knowledge through his awakened ability, and transcendent comprehension allowed him to breeze through the most difficult part of learning spells.
A treasure that supported spells, like the Five Elements Bracelet, suited him best.
'Let's consider it a material of the Earth School found in advance. It was at the middle or late Core Formation Stage, so there is no concern about its quality.'
The pterosaur with two pairs of wings that had circled in the air likely possessed a wind attribute. Of course, he would need to confirm that himself later.
Still stroking Muyong, he sank into thought.
The Dragon Heart's immense presence had made it extremely difficult to complete the Threefold Harmonization Formula in the primeval forest.
Fortunately, the Threefold Harmonization Formula was not a cultivation method intended to increase one's strength, so it was less affected by the environment.
'And once I finish refining it, I might be able to suppress that presence somewhat.'
Then he could return to the primeval forest to cultivate. Before that, it would be good to find a better way to conceal his presence.
After idling a little longer to regain his calm, he left his quarters. Since he had something to think about anyway, he figured he might as well accumulate some Karma.
He was about to leave the fortress without much thought when someone called out to him.
“Hunter Han Yujin!”
A Hunter stopped him.
“Vice Guild Leader Park Seryong is looking for you. He is waiting outside the Great Rift regarding the matter you entrusted to him before...”
After listening to the rest of the brief explanation, Han Yujin nodded.
'He really found Wonhui.'
Feeling slightly strange, he immediately headed for the place where Park Seryong was waiting. It was close enough to reach quickly with the Wind Escape Art.
* * *
Naturally, all kinds of defensive facilities had been established outside the Great Rift in preparation for emergencies. Various conveniences for those operating those defenses had also been built, making the place feel like a small city.
Park Seryong and Wonhui were waiting in a quiet residence there. It was lodging for high-ranking personnel, with the atmosphere of a small mansion.
“You're here.”
“Yes, you worked hard. The child...?”
Before he could finish asking, he saw Lee Wonhui sitting expressionlessly on the living room sofa and fiddling with a smartphone that clearly belonged to someone else.
He knew at once that this was that Wonhui.
Han Yujin took the bundle of documents containing Wonhui's personal details from Park Seryong, skimmed through it almost instantly with Divine Sense, and returned it.
Judging by the contents, Wonhui had stopped by the Special Ability Verification and Training Center before coming here.
“I've read it.”
“Ah, yes?”
Han Yujin walked past the slightly flustered Park Seryong. The child, who had shown slight interest without turning their head, finally looked at him.
“Hello.”
He sat across from Wonhui and greeted them warmly. At the same time, he began subtly examining them with Divine Sense.
'They have already awakened an S-Rank superpower...'
That was what the documents Park Seryong had handed him said. Wonhui could control darkness, including shadows, and astonishingly, could even grant that darkness a faint sense of self-will.
In other words, Wonhui was someone who would become South Korea's fourth S-Rank Hunter. Given the unusual nature of the ability and their age, their future was exceptionally promising.
However, another unusual detail was recorded in the report. For some reason, Wonhui greatly disliked their ability. According to the psychological counselor's opinion, it seemed to go beyond simple dislike, as though Wonhui was even somewhat afraid of it.
'Is that why they hid their awakening and did not attend Hunter vocational school?'
If Park Seryong had not personally sought them out, they would not have been discovered this way. Wonhui's ability to hide their power was that impressive.
As he continued examining Wonhui with Divine Sense, Han Yujin became certain.
The child before him possessed the Heavenly Spiritual Root, an aptitude considered genius-tier even in the cultivation world.
A Heavenly Spiritual Root holder could achieve a Dharma Soul sublimation rate of forty percent in only around one hundred days, given a basic cultivation environment.
Even Han Yujin, who had cultivated amid the tremendous environmental advantage of the primeval forest, had only managed to reach a little over half the cultivation speed of known Heavenly Spiritual Root holders.
'With talent like this, plus an awakened ability that mixes darkness and soul attributes, it makes sense that they became such a terrifying being on Earth After the Apocalypse.'
As he nodded to himself, Lee Wonhui asked.
“Who are you, mister?”
“Do I look like a mister? Call me Uncle.”
“But you're not my uncle.”
“Of course I'm not your actual uncle. But our society has silently agreed that anyone between an older brother and a mister, someone you expect to keep meeting or become somewhat close to, can simply be called Uncle.”
“...What?”
“I said you should call me Uncle.”
Lee Wonhui's eyes flicked about for a moment, then they nodded.
“...Okay, Uncle.”
“Good. You really are smart. Since I've become your uncle, how about I give you a gift? It would help you control your superpower better.”
Perhaps because the topic was something Wonhui disliked, the child fell silent and did not answer easily. Then their gaze suddenly shifted to Muyong, whom Han Yujin had been holding.
“Hmm...”
After thinking for a moment, Han Yujin held Muyong out.
“Do you want to pet her?”
“...Can I?”
“Do you get urges to torment or hurt animals whenever you see them?”
“No!”
Wonhui answered with slight irritation. Reassured, Han Yujin handed Muyong over.
The child accepted Muyong with extreme care. Perhaps surprised by how much softer and warmer she was than expected, Wonhui even stiffened slightly.
Squeak! Squeak!
At the cute cries, Lee Wonhui's eyes sparkled without their realizing it. Watching this, Han Yujin felt some of his wariness soften.
He could use that useless little thing to properly break the ice.
As he thought this, he considered in one corner of his mind what he should do with this nine-year-old genius from now on.
* * *
By the time they came outside, the sun had fully set and the moon was beginning to appear.
“We can't have that child keep staying here, can we?”
“This is not a good environment for education.”
“Hmm... We cannot send them back to that shantytown either...”
Han Yujin looked at Park Seryong beside him, asking with his eyes whether there was any other way.
“We will support the grandmother who serves as Wonhui's guardian in several ways, including providing rental housing in Seoul.”
“That sounds good. How is their relationship with their grandmother?”
“It did not seem bad. However...”
Park Seryong looked conflicted. He glanced toward the residence behind them, lowered his voice, and asked.
“Are you planning to teach and raise the child?”
“Yes, for now.”
It would be ridiculous not to nurture a young genius with a Heavenly Spiritual Root after finding them.
Even if he taught Wonhui nothing, he had to keep them close and watch over them to prevent any chance of contact with people like the Church of the Goddess of Eternity.
“...”
Yet after hearing the answer, Park Seryong looked even more conflicted.
Han Yujin felt as though he could guess what was going through his mind.
“Are you afraid?”
“...Yes. Honestly, I am.”
“Are you afraid of that child's potential, or are you afraid of me, who might take that child under my wing and do who knows what in the future?”
“Both.”
Then Park Seryong suddenly dropped to his knees.
Han Yujin showed no outward sign of being shaken, but he was briefly surprised inside.
It was even more startling because Park Seryong was the last person he would have expected to do such a thing.
“Teacher.”
The title had changed again from Junior.
“What kind of person are you?”
“You must have investigated me already.”
“You are not someone who can be understood through such an investigation. May I tell you my guess?”
“What is it?”
After a brief silence, Park Seryong spoke.
“A regressor, a reincarnator, a time traveler, or a parallel-world traveler. Am I right?”
“Hmm...”
It seemed that the misunderstanding caused by the Dragon Heart's presence, combined with realizing that the vision he had experienced in the safehouse was real after finding Lee Wonhui, had led Park Seryong to this conclusion.
“Your awakened ability is not something like knowledge related to Mana. It must be a higher ability, one that lets you obtain such knowledge...”
“Get up first.”
Before Park Seryong could say anything more, Han Yujin raised him with the Object Manipulation Art.
“Why are you doing this?”
“I want to know your true purpose. And... if possible, I wish to join that purpose. Please accept me.”
Han Yujin immediately stopped him as he tried to kneel again.
“Now, this really is not a good habit.”
After speaking firmly, he added.
“The relationship between you and me is not bad right now. If things continue to develop well like this, we might naturally become the kind of partners you want us to be. Do you understand?”
“...Yes, Teacher.”
“And call me what you used to.”
“Yes, Junior. I understand what you mean.”
Han Yujin had not expected Park Seryong's power-seeking side to manifest in this way.
He had felt it once before, but it was hard to imagine anyone following the saying, “If you cannot beat them, join them,” quite so well.
'What on earth has he speculated about on his own, and how far have those guesses gone?'
Shaking his head inwardly, Han Yujin discussed a few more minor matters with him.
“Oh, and if you have time, look into Lee Wonhui's father as well. I think the reason they dislike their ability may be that they caused their father's death with it. It is only a guess, though.”
“Yes, I understand.”
With that, they parted on good terms.
The matter concerning Wonhui had been roughly handled, so now it was time to return to his quarters and use his awakened ability again to refine the Dragon Heart.
* * *
The dark, empty Waiting Area.
Han Yujin stood before the familiar Door with his eyes closed. He was considering what kind of wish he should envision to find a world suitable for refining the Dragon Heart without failure.
He had experienced this before, possessed an instinctive sense of his own awakened ability, and had the enhanced intellect expected of a Dharma Soul Stage cultivator.
It was not difficult to envision an ideal wish that perfectly suited his purpose.
After a while, once he had reviewed it several times, he seriously reached out his hand.
The Door that took shape beneath his hand had gold-plated patterns carved into the posts on either side, antique eaves hanging above, and panels decorated with jade and gold. It had an Eastern yet remarkably worldly atmosphere.
'The martial world of the Azure Cloud Heaven Realm...?'
The term martial world was very familiar. It appeared often in martial arts novels, so it could hardly be otherwise.
After considering it for a moment, Han Yujin soon nodded.
There were worlds like xianxia worlds, so it would be stranger if there were no martial arts worlds. With spiritual energy present, how could people have failed to use it to develop physical martial arts?
Add an Eastern-style culture to that setting, and it would naturally become a martial arts world worthy of the name martial world.
'I wished for a world that was reasonably safe while still somewhat useful. If I look carefully, there will definitely be something I can gain there.'
After checking his preparations one last time, he adjusted the sleeping Muyong in his arms, opened the Door, and stepped through.
Footnotes:
“Useless” echoes Muyong's name, which is a Korean pun with readings meaning “useless” and “martial valor.”
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