EP.8
The inn was as noisy as ever.
Baekun glanced around the inn and smoothly walked to a table where a man was seated.
“Namgung-hyung. I heard you have something to discuss.”
Namgung Yeon, who was eating his food mindlessly, replied without looking up.
“Are you not going to eat a bit?”
The white noodle dish made from oil, eggs, and milk was completely unfamiliar to Baekun.
“No thanks. Why is it that you’re using strange utensils instead of chopsticks?”
“You have to use this for this dish.”
Namgung Yeon twirled the noodles with a bizarrely shaped utensil that branched into three ends.
Every time Baekun looked at that strange utensil and the slimy dish, he felt an inexplicable anger rising within him. He couldn’t even comprehend why he disliked it so much.
He gritted his teeth and continued speaking.
“Did you find out any information?”
“Of course. Would Namgung Yeon ever call you without any information?”
The man sitting across from him, Namgung Yeon, was anything but ordinary. He was said to have information-gathering skills that could rival those of the Open faction.
“You must have heard of Shiman Mountain, right?”
Shiman Mountain was a place every martial artist knew.
Especially for Baekun, who was entrenched in the teachings of the Jongnam.
“Of course I’ve heard of it. Isn’t it the stronghold of the Demon Cult?”
“Eh? It’s not the Demon Cult; it should be referred to as the Heavenly Demon Cult.”
Baekun frowned.
Hearing someone from Namgung refer to the Demon Cult as the Heavenly Demon Cult was unsettling to him, raised in the rigid teachings of Jongnam.
“The Heavenly Demon Cult, you say? How can you say that while bearing the name of Namgung?”
“Ha ha. Since I’m already out of favor, what’s there to lose?”
Namgung Yeon downed a bowl of liquor.
“Wow. The taste of the liquor is pretty good.”
“Enough about that. Let’s finish the topic we were discussing.”
“Right. The information you requested was about spirit beasts, wasn’t it?”
Animals or plants that possess mystical energies.
If one could harness their powers, it would make reaching new heights of mastery incomparably faster than through training alone.
Yet, martial artists showed little interest in spirit beasts.
They dismissed them as mere figments of imagination.
However, they actually existed.
Due to their sudden appearances, martial artists were keenly searching for any means to secure spirit beasts.
Even the monks from Shaolin were running around trying to catch spirit beasts; one could only imagine how determined other martial artists were.
Baekun was also looking for such spirit beasts.
He felt that he couldn’t reach the next level through training alone.
“Indeed.”
“I’ve confirmed that there are spirit beasts in Shiman Mountain.”
Tsk.
Baekun clicked his tongue.
That was meaningless information.
Shiman Mountain was not a place one could enter freely.
Besides the distance, just thinking about what kind of group resided there made him hesitate to go.
“There’s no way I could storm the stronghold of the Demon Cult just for a single spirit beast.”
“It’s not just one.”
“Are you saying there are more?”
Namgung Yeon lightly nodded and spread out his right hand.
“Five? That won’t do.”
Namgung Yeon shook his head.
“Don’t tell me there are fifty? Phew, that’s tempting, but….”
He shook his head again.
“Is it five hundred?”
What Baekun had mentioned was an absurd number.
“Five digits.”
What Namgung Yeon said was even more ridiculous.
“At least there are spirit beasts in the five digits,” Namgung Yeon said.
Baekun silently downed the liquor on the table.
“I thought you only drank Soheungju, but I must have been mistaken,” he said wryly.
Namgung Yeon chuckled as he watched Baekun wipe away the liquor that had splashed on his face.
“Namgung-hyung, I’m not here to joke around.”
“That’s a bit disappointing; do you still not know Namgung Yeon?”
Namgung Yeon continued in a low voice.
“Shiman Mountain is a pristine land that no one has dared to invade. Therefore, the spirit beasts gather there, as humans and spirit beasts are natural enemies.”
“…If that’s true, wouldn’t it disturb the balance of the central plains if the Demon Cult managed to capture all the spirit beasts?”
“If they were to do that, perhaps it would. However, Baekun, I explicitly stated that no one has breached Shiman Mountain.”
“That means….”
“Yes. It means even the followers of the Heavenly Demon Cult cannot enter.”
Baekun couldn’t comprehend their behavior.
“Why are the Demon Cultists acting this way?”
“I don’t know the details, but I’ve heard a prophecy.”
“A prophecy?”
“That a Heavenly Demon will be born on Shiman Mountain.”
The Heavenly Demon—a fictitious deity worshipped by the Heavenly Demon Cult.
“Are you saying they leave all those spirit beasts alone just because of that prophecy?”
“That’s the kind of group they are.”
“No, I don’t understand.”
Baekun lightly slammed his palm on the table.
“No matter how much of a master one becomes, a carp is still a carp. The same goes for the Golden Toad.”
If a carp accumulates enough inner power, it becomes known as the ‘Myriad Year Carp.’ Similarly, if a powerful toad bears inner power, it is called the ‘Golden Toad.’
However, despite their names as spirit beasts, their innate strength was not particularly remarkable.
Namgung Yeon followed up on Baekun’s remark.
“Despite their weakness, why is the inner power contained in their essence so formidable? Have you ever thought about that?”
The inner essence held by spirit beasts was truly an unparalleled treasure.
Obtaining just one could be called a fortuitous encounter, and it was something that anyone who revered martial arts would covet.
“That’s just the limit of the carp and the toad. Even with immense inner power, if they cannot surpass their limits, they are merely a carp or a toad.”
“That’s exactly my point. We should be considering how to harness the power of those spirit beasts. Why just let them sit there? Could it be that the spirit beasts are the gods that the Demon Cultists are waiting for?”
“Who knows? Rumor has it that there’s a similar being in the volcano.”
“The volcano… you mean that Lizard called Yongin….”
“Don’t say any more.”
Namgung Yeon warned Baekun.
Rumor had it in the marketplace that a lizard with ruby-red scales and huge wings had entered the volcano, and that the master of the volcano, who could freely manipulate a massive fireball resembling a great dragon, had come into existence.
And the moment one uttered its name, the world would face destruction.
“Are you afraid of mere rumors from the marketplace?”
“As an information broker, I have to be cautious about everything that circulates there—martial arts, power struggles, you name it.”
“I never knew you were scared of marketplace rumors.”
Namgung Yeon silently downed more liquor.
“Still, I don’t get it. Just a handful of spirit beasts….”
“As I mentioned, spirit beasts are weak because they cannot surpass their own limits.”
He tapped on the empty liquor bowl and continued with a serious expression.
“But what if they were to undergo a transformation?”
“A transformation?”
This term referred to a transformation where one changes their bones to be reborn, adapting their body to be more suitable for martial arts and achieving a higher state.
“How could they undergo such a transformation?”
“The conditions are sufficient. Heavy inner power accumulated over decades or even centuries, and a body that doesn’t match it. It wouldn’t be strange at all for a transformation to occur.”
Namgung Yeon flashed a toothy grin.
“Don’t you find it truly intriguing what would happen if a spirit beast with such immense inner power were to break through its limits?”
“When more than five spirit beasts assimilate each other’s powers, at each wall they face, they will draw upon the strength of their essence and be reborn in new forms….”
Baekun closed his eyes, picturing the scene in his mind.
Over ten thousand spirit beasts clashing against each other, all seeking to claim each other’s essence. The image of a green dragon roaring atop a mountain of corpses flashed before him.
“Isn’t it akin to solitude?”
“Indeed, a marvel of calamity.”
“Uh… you’ve lost it.”
Baekun flicked his tongue.
He had merely sought to know the whereabouts of the spirit beasts but ended up hearing a tale far more grand than anticipated.
The information Namgung Yeon spoke of was a game-changer for the central plains.
“So what can I do about it?”
Everyone in the tavern turned their attention to Namgung Yeon’s words, enveloping the room in silence.
“Not everyone has stationed themselves throughout the vast Shiman Mountain. There are several paths I know of.”
Even though he was a master capable of using stealth, he spoke in a loud voice, hiding his prowess.
He aimed for as many people as possible to hear him.
So that they could become intrigued by Shiman Mountain.
The skills of those present, aside from Baekun, were abysmal.
Yet their rumors would spread faster than anything else.
“Now, the first path is….”
Namgung Yeon’s goal was to draw the attention of martial artists, including those from the Five Great Families and the Nine Great Clans, to Shiman Mountain.
*
Unbeknownst to himself, the Lizard, having completed its transformation, floated still on the water.
Perhaps it had grasped the essence of footwork; it wore a solemn expression with its eyes closed. No, it was covering its eyes with a leaf.
Tap.
Even as it collided with a dragonfly buzzing overhead, it didn’t flinch.
It had entered a state of profound meditation.
Time passed, and its body began to sink slightly below the water.
At that moment, the leaf was swept away, revealing its crimson eyes to the world.
Splash!
A water spray erupted as its tail emerged from the surface, soaring like a dragon.
It let out a satisfied croak upon seeing the fish clamped in its grasp.
“Gekek!”
This little lizard, unfamiliar with martial and combat prowess, was simply ecstatic to have secured a meal.
Of course, there were minor issues: the fish was a tad larger than it had anticipated, with razor-sharp teeth, and it was diligently chewing on its tail. But it paid no mind.
“…Gek?”
The green lizard was startled awake.
Wiping away its delusions of spicy stew and sashimi, it glared at the opponent before it.
【Black Piranha LV8】
__________________________
【Black Piranha】
It can grow up to 60cm, earning the nickname the “King of Piranhas.”
Its bite force surpasses that of most sharks and it is known to be an extremely aggressive species.
__________________________
Though the lizard had already consumed three essences, it was still at a level where it had to contend with just one fish for its survival.
Even so, it bellowed fiercely and charged at the piranha.
“Gegegekk!”
My site has received a lot of DMCA notices, lol. From now on, I will update the MTL on https://darkmtl.com/.
The site is fast and lightweight because there are no ads yet. However, the theme is different from Cybor-TL, so take some time to familiarize yourself.
Support me by donating at least $10, and you'll have the right to request any novel from Novelpia (excluding 19+ content) using a newly developed tool.