Clang!
“You’ve arrived!”
“Lord Hyangju!”
“I didn’t call you for no reason…”
“No way. If something happens, you should come.”
Someone graciously descended into the underground prison.
Blue hair and blue eyes. And a woman dressed in pure white clothing.
She was beautiful beyond comparison to anyone connected with Lord Jeokmu-hyang and was simultaneously the most unique existence.
The new master of Lord Jeokmu-hyang, possessing strength beyond a display case.
Yena’s eyes sparkled as she leaned her head out toward the iron cage.
“Lily!”
[Oh]
[Lilyda Lily]
[Wow, it’s real, lol]
[Lilha!]
[Wait, already the master of Mid World, lol]
[Boy Lily]
[Yena, let me out]
[The penalty wasn’t a big deal]
“Lily! It’s me, Yena! Please let me out!”
“This person said they know Lord Hyangju. Do you perhaps know each other?”
“Hmm…”
“Lily?”
Lord Hyangju walked slowly over and approached the iron cage where Yena was trapped.
Then she slightly lowered her head and made eye contact with her.
“Hmm?”
“…Lily?”
“Where have we seen each other?”
[?]
[Lolololololol]
[Why don’t you know?]
[No idea?]
[Lol]
[I knew it would turn out like this]
[As expected, clueless Yena, lol]
“Stop joking around!!!”
“I think I’ve seen something similar… hmm…”
“You don’t know?”
“Well, I think I’ve seen a similar person. Hmm…”
“……”
As Lord Hyangju tilted her head, the old man beside her shot a glare at Yena.
Seemingly furious at the audacity of impersonating Lord Hyangju’s friend, the old man’s energy began to stir violently.
“How dare you tell a lie to Lord Hyangju?”
“No.”
“You will be trapped here for life. Rot here until your lifespan runs out.”
“No way. That’s absurd…”
“Hmm, hmm, hmm…”
[Lolololololol]
[Lily, stop messing around]
[Yena is going to cry]
[Lily is so enjoying this, it’s hilarious]
[Boy Lily]
[Lily, why are you so excited, lol]
[Stop it]
[Lololololololol]
“There’s nothing certain, so I’ll take my leave for now. If I remember later, I’ll come back, so don’t bother me unnecessarily.”
“Understood, Lord Hyangju.”
“Impudent little thing. There’s a limit to impersonating…”
“How dare you impersonate Lord Hyangju’s friend?”
“Lily? Lily? Lily???”
“This is strange. I feel like I’ve seen you somewhere…”
Step, step.
As Lord Hyangju turned her steps toward the exit, Yena made a face that looked like she was about to cry.
“Done.”
“And soon after, as if something came to mind, she opened her inventory and drank the potion.”
“A potion that temporarily alleviates penalties.”
“Though it restricted her power, the chains binding Yena, which even suppressed the system, weren’t that impressive.”
“The practitioners were momentarily surprised by the potion that popped out of thin air, but they only watched as Lord Jeokmu-hyang instructed them not to touch it.”
“Whatever happens, as long as Lord Jeokmu-hyang is present, there shouldn’t be any problems.”
“With her mind returning, Yena manipulated the spear floating in the air and realized one thing.”
“No way, the broadcast is on right now!!”
“Oh, you caught me.”
■
“Calm down.”
“…That’s just too much.”
Sigh…
“[Hahaha]”
“[Yena’s so adorable.]”
“[Yena, Yena…]”
“[This is Lily’s fault.]”
“[It’s hilarious how it started the moment the broadcast went live! Hahaha.]”
“[Big Lily.]”
“[I kinda thought this might happen.]”
The top floor of the Sovereignty of Jeokmuhyang.
Sitting right next to the table laden with a feast, Yena started eating the food one by one while sniffling.
Even while crying, her ability to eat well was quite a sight.
“They said if you come to Jeokmu-hyang, they’d treat you well… this is too much.”
“I’m sorry. I just wanted to play a little prank.”
“I actually shed a few tears. On top of that, I’ve completely turned into something weird because of training.”
“I was surprised. You really did look different.”
Given Yena’s immense talent and decent skill, I had expected something from her to a degree.
Since she became Lord Jeokmu-hyang, I heard good things every time we met through the back channels, so I had high hopes.
But I didn’t expect her to ascend before even achieving Ascension.
Usually, ordinary ascendants reach the early or mid-stage of the Transition Device, and even then, it often requires the combined effort of several ascendants.
There are various reasons for this, but getting information about the Mid World from the Lower Realm is quite difficult, and the Cosmic Spirit scattered around is ridiculously insufficient.
Even if one achieves enlightenment, there’s a lack of ‘resources’ to realize it.
Thus, I thought the limit would be reaching the later stage of the Transition Device at best, but Yena managed to land in the Avatar Phase and succeeded in Ascension.
Seeing my shocked reaction, Yena chuckled while chewing on a piece of perfectly cooked meat.
“It’s all thanks to the seniors. Hee hee hee.”
“Eat slowly.”
“Nyang.”
“[Hahaha]”
“[She’s excited because she got praised.]”
“[Just eat and then tell us.]”
[So cute]
[Nya, what a joke lol]
[Great Yena]
[Yena has had a tough time]
[Yena’s skills have really improved]
Gulp!
“Wow… why is this so delicious? What is this? It’s insane.”
“The chef here is quite skilled. He’s a Master of Avatar, and has been cooking in the Sovereignty of Jeokmuhyang for 500 years. He’s really good at it.”
“Meow? The chef is a Master of Avatar?”
“Yep.”
Since the Ascetics were as common as stones on the roadside in the Mid World, even an average Practitioner possessed power beyond the Yuan Spirit level.
Just yesterday, one of the newly born children had the strength of a Qi Gathering level right after birth.
It’s completely normal for the chef managing the meals of Lord Jeokmu-hyang to be a Master of Avatar.
“He wasn’t a Master of Avatar from the start, but after dedicating long years to cooking, he naturally leveled up. There are a lot of Cosmic Spirits here, after all?”
“That’s true, but… it’s a bit dizzying…”
Yena let out a helpless laugh but nodded as if she understood.
Lord Jeokmu-hyang’s Palace is located where Cosmic Spirits are most abundant.
Working there for 500 years means you’d naturally accumulate skill, whether you want to or not.
“However, Lady Lily’s chicken skewers are definitely tastier.”
“That’s crossing the line.”
A Master of Avatar is at most on the level of a mid-tier Heavenly or a basic Demon race.
Even if it’s a copy, it’s certainly no comparison to the “Celestial Skewers,” which are believed to be made by an ‘Eight Seats’ level existence.
No food in the world could possibly compare to that.
Yena continued to eat while tossing various questions my way.
I had relayed the situation and information several times through the mouth, but because Yena was busy training, I didn’t know the exact details.
“So, did you really capture a Marriage Device level Ascetic?”
“Not a Marriage Device yet. I caught Lord Jeokmu-hyang though. If I’d been a bit late, everyone would’ve died.”
“Wow… but hasn’t Lord Heavenly Horse arrived yet? Didn’t he say he would come?”
“There hasn’t been any news from Lord Heavenly Horse.”
Despite saying he’d immediately ascend after sorting out the situation of the Heavenly Horse Church, there had been no news yet.
In fact, it seemed like his ascension was delayed even more than Yena, who had entered the main temple much later.
Unless Lord Heavenly Horse was active outside of broadcasting or Deoen, there was no way to know.
‘No replies from the Deoen messages either.’
[Right?]
[Where the heck is Lord Heavenly Horse?]
[Heavenly Horse is later than Yena.]
[I really want to see Lord Heavenly Horse.]
[For real lol]
“It seems like the Heavenly Horse Church exists under Lord Heavenly Horse. You’d probably hesitate to shake that off completely, right?”
“Ah-nyang…”
“Or maybe they went to a different Mid World. Well, we’ll meet someday, won’t we?”
In the end, no matter how you look at it, the Heavenly Horse is a user.
When something as important as the Kraken subjugation event comes up, they’ll probably come looking for me without me even having to search for them.
“I didn’t expect Miss Yena to become an Avatar Phase, so I prepared Avatar Phase materials and data. Looks like they’re no longer needed.”
“Ah! But wouldn’t it be nice to have them, nyang?”
“Well, I have data beyond the Avatar Phase, so I’ll give that to you. You handle the ‘Axis’ well, right?”
“To some extent, nyang. I’ve gotten somewhat used to it, nyang.”
[Back to cat language, lol]
[Yes-cat]
Yena nodded and set the dishes down.
Having finished her meal, the teary expression from earlier was nowhere to be found, replaced instead with a rather satisfied look.
“Lady Lily said she’s in the Record Phase now, right, nyang?”
“That’s right.”
“That’s so typical of Lady Lily. Then the Display Case should be ready in no time, nyang?”
“That’s somewhat of a problem.”
“?”
I told Yena the secret of the Display Case.
Unlike anything so far, the Display Case requires a huge amount of ‘lifespan.’
To fill it here, you’d need to gather an enormous amount of ‘energy’ from nature or take lives from other ascetics.
The former wouldn’t hurt anyone, but it takes a long time.
The latter can be done quickly, but someone will have to suffer.
For reference, Lord Jeokmuhyang had chosen the former method.
Yena nodded with a serious expression.
“…It’s definitely not an easy task, nyang.”
“I’m contemplating it. Which direction to take. Moreover, even after reaching the Display Case, I’ll need more Axis of Life.”
In the end, cultivation requires the sacrifice of someone else.
“How much lifespan does the Display Case require, nyang?”
“Well, I heard it varies by ascetic, but around 300,000?”
“You said a meeting would happen, nyang? Will other Archlords be there too?”
“Apparently, they all will. It’s the rule of Jangmugye, so they can’t break it.”
“……”
“Why?”
Yena tilted her head.
“I feel like there might be a simple way, nyang.”
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