WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Dionysus

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◈ Xianxia Cultivation with a Dragon Heart ◈

Chapter 7: Cultivation Begins in the Primeval Forest

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He happened to have the weekend free, so Han Yujin spent about two days resting without using his ability.

The cost of using it was light, but his mental energy did not seem to recover very quickly. Besides, simply reading the books he had brought back as spoils felt rewarding enough.

‘Visiting different worlds too often makes reality feel a little unreal...’

Even now, he sometimes could not believe that he had awakened. Looking at cultivation manuals and magical arts written in another world's language only made it feel more surreal.

As an aside, when he chose these books as spoils, it felt as though knowledge and comprehension of the relevant language had come with them. Otherwise, he would have felt cheated.

Anyway.

While resting, Han Yujin tried practicing the Returning to the Origin Art a few times. He did not want to be greedy. He only wanted to succeed at sensing spiritual energy.

There was something he was a little worried about.

‘What kind of spiritual root aptitude do I have?’

Put simply, a spiritual root was the ability to sense spiritual energy.

Spiritual energy was usually said to fill heaven and earth, but its precise source was the Primordial Chaos Realm, a cosmic flow of power that existed half-overlapped with reality.

Strictly speaking, then, a spiritual root was the ability to resonate with the Primordial Chaos Realm.

‘And that aptitude has ranks.’

Depending on how well one could resonate with spiritual energy, spiritual roots were ranked as Heavenly Spiritual Roots, True Spiritual Roots, and False Spiritual Roots. An ordinary person with virtually no resonance at all had a No Spiritual Root.

Han Yujin was not even hoping for a Heavenly Spiritual Root. He would be satisfied with a True Spiritual Root.

By the standards of the cultivation world, the difference in cultivation speed between a Heavenly Spiritual Root and a True Spiritual Root could be as much as tenfold. But a Heavenly Spiritual Root was literally bestowed by the heavens, so hoping for one would be greedy.

Even a True Spiritual Root was at least ten times better off than a False Spiritual Root.

‘So the difference in cultivation speed between a Heavenly Spiritual Root and a False Spiritual Root could be as much as a hundredfold?’

Thinking about it made him hope even more that he had a True Spiritual Root. Even if his awakened ability could somehow make up for a False Spiritual Root, it sounded like it would be an enormous hardship.

Han Yujin did not even consider the possibility that he had a No Spiritual Root.

Spiritual energy was called mana on Earth, and it was common knowledge that every Awakened could sense mana.

Mana was originally a concept from the traditional cultures of peoples across several Pacific islands, including Melanesia. The famous Maori were also among the peoples who believed in mana.

At any rate, mana became the standard term for supernatural power after it appeared in a hugely popular science fiction novel in the 1950s.

The novel had been such a hit that when Awakened began appearing alongside the first Rifts and displaying mysterious powers, almost every American called that power mana.

The term spread across the world at great speed and eventually became the international standard.

‘In China, they still just call it qi or internal energy.’

In any case, it was common knowledge that all Awakened could sense mana. There was no chance that Han Yujin had a No Spiritual Root.

As he read, he began to feel his focus drift. He lay on his bed and fiddled with his phone to rest. Opening his messenger app out of habit, he suddenly remembered something.

He checked the profile of that middle school classmate again, the person who might have been the trigger for his awakening. As he scrolled through the photos, a dark, difficult-to-describe satisfaction welled up inside him.

‘You two would fall over in shock if you found out what kind of ability I awakened.’

He knew neither of them had done anything wrong to him. Even so, he felt refreshed, as though he had taken some kind of revenge.

Well, what did it matter? It was only a private thought.

After closing the messenger app, Han Yujin began browsing online communities. Naturally, he paid particular attention to sites about Hunters and supernatural abilities.

There had been a time when he visited such sites often. He had longed for and envied the impossible stroke of luck he desperately wanted but never believed would happen to him, awakening an ability.

- If you get high and cast Heal, does it add a pleasure buff?

- But can Heal cure the aftereffects of drugs too?

- Looking at this, healer really is the pinnacle of awakened abilities.

- Being a Hunter is basically a cushy government post, f*ck lol.

- Current situation of junkie heal-bot Lee X-min.jpg

As always, there was a parade of useless posts that did nothing for anyone's life.

The main topic seemed to be a Hunter who had been arrested for using drugs. There was not a single post with a sympathetic tone. Most were filled with hatred, condemning and tearing the Hunter apart.

To Han Yujin, the posts somehow seemed less like outrage over drug use and more like an outlet for jealousy and envy toward a Hunter lucky enough to awaken an ability.

And strangely, it bolstered his self-esteem. Probably because he, too, could become the target of such jealousy and envy.

As he had painfully realized only a few days ago.

Life was unfair by nature.

Now that he was the beneficiary of that unfairness, life felt so bright and full of hope.

He had meant to rest, but suddenly felt completely recharged. He immediately sat down at his computer and reviewed his plans.

They were plans for an easier entry onto the immortal path.

Cultivating in a world with far more abundant spiritual energy would be much more advantageous than continuing here. Of course, it would cost karma to bring the results of that cultivation back to reality, but he had an instinctive certainty that it could be done. And it would be worth it.

Why?

Even if he used the same amount of lifespan, he could save time in this Earth world, which he considered his home base. He could regard the karma spent as the price of eliminating risks like qi deviation while studying alone, as well as the price of renting a good cultivation site.

‘I'll have to see whether it will really be good or bad, but I need to make at least a few attempts and get a sense of the costs.’

With that thought, Han Yujin focused on reviewing his plans again.

* * *

When he fell asleep, Han Yujin entered the space filled with darkness. He had decided to call it the waiting area.

‘As expected, it doesn't work.’

The first thing he checked was whether the survival pack he had left beside him before falling asleep was there. Unfortunately, as expected, he had not been able to bring it into this place.

But just as he had expected, all the items he had chosen as spoils last time were still here.

He could take them with him when he crossed the door. Even if they were lost or damaged there, he would find them here again next time in perfect condition.

Just as he himself returned whole even after experiencing death.

As his understanding of his awakened ability deepened, Han Yujin approached the ever-changing door before him and slowly placed a hand on it.

Wooooong...!

The familiar resonance rang out, and the door's form stabilized. It looked as though no proper civilization existed there. Rough piles of stone were covered only by thick vines.

Looking at it, Han Yujin had a sudden concern.

‘They aren't going to dress me in caveman rags, are they?’

Every time he visited a world so far, he had been changed into clothing suited to that place. It was only natural to worry what sort of outfit would suit this primeval world.

Shaking off the passing thought, he gathered several books whose contents he had not yet memorized, the Storage Pouch, the Five Elements Sword, and the Spirit-Liquid Flask. Then, after bracing himself, he pushed aside the hanging vines and crossed the door.

He had already experienced dimensional travel several times.

After giving the disappearing door a brief glance, he looked around with growing familiarity.

He stood deep within a forest where enormous trees rose as if to pierce the sky. There was no trace of civilization, and even the sunlight was partially blocked, making it feel somewhat dark despite being midday.

Fortunately, he was not wearing caveman rags. His outfit was a highly modern and practical explorer's set. It even had a utility belt where he could hang the Storage Pouch and the Five Elements Sword.

‘Good. Very good.’

Admiring it, he fastened the two items to his belt, held the rest in his hands, and started looking for shelter. He did not need to worry about malice from other people in this primeval world, but there were dangers in the wild.

‘And with so much life around, there should be plenty to eat.’

Until he entered the immortal path and could use the Spirit-Liquid Flask, he should be able to survive without starving, however miserably.

Even if he failed, it would be fine. He just had to try again and again.

Holding both tension and interest, he kept alert as he moved. He was not wandering aimlessly, but heading toward a rocky cliff formation visible between the trees.

A short while later, before he even reached the cliffs, he found an earthen hollow beneath a large tree, formed where its roots had been exposed. It was not large enough for more than one person to squeeze inside.

‘This is it.’

It felt like it had been abandoned for a long time, but it might have an owner. Still, considering its size, even if it did, it did not seem likely to be much of a threat.

After setting down the items in his hands, he diligently began widening the hollow with the Five Elements Sword. It was far too small to serve as a shelter as it was.

The work continued for several hours.

He dug wildly with both the Five Elements Sword and his bare hands, scattered the piles of soil around the area, and finally brought dry leaves from nearby to spread over the roughly completed shelter floor.

For this planned expedition, he had diligently built up his bushcraft knowledge through MyTube and similar sites.

He had not been able to bring any tools, but at least he was not someone stranded without knowing anything.

After fetching a boulder from the nearby cliff formation to block the entrance of his roughly completed shelter, he finally felt confident that he would not simply die horribly in his sleep. Only then did he head out to find drinking water, leaving the inconvenient items in the temporary shelter.

Fortunately, he found a trickling spring soon after setting out. There were even mushrooms nearby that looked edible.

‘This can't all be pure luck, can it?’

It was probably because he had strongly wished for these environmental conditions when he fixed the door.

After drinking a little spring water, he examined the mushrooms. He carefully touched one lightly to his skin and checked whether it split easily lengthwise, following something he had heard. Then he noticed signs that insects had eaten part of it, which reassured him a little.

If it had been a poisonous mushroom, insects would not have eaten it like this. Unless, of course, they were some unusual insects with a resistance to it.

He gathered some of the mushrooms, returned to the shelter, and sat down. Only then, now that he had completed all the urgent measures, did he relax enough to let out a deep breath.

After resting briefly to recover his mental energy, he put an extremely small piece of mushroom into his mouth to test whether it was poisonous, tasted it, then swallowed.

Then, without paying any more attention to the mushrooms, he sat comfortably and began practicing the Returning to the Origin Art.

Since he had crossed into this world through such a strong wish, its spiritual energy was surely abundant.

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