"... I'm not sure."

Yise found the question difficult to accept. Even objectively speaking, he thought there was nothing particularly wrong with his personality.

"At any rate, I can tell it's a dangerous power for someone at your realm. Don't use it carelessly until you get used to it."

"Yes, Cultivator Gwak."

Yise answered as though taking the advice to heart, then extinguished the light.

"Anyway, you've really made a mess of the place. Repairs are going to cost you. You know how expensive cultivation room walls are, right?"

"..."

Gwak Chan threw his head back in hearty laughter at Yise's stricken expression.

"Well, see you around, Cultivator Yi. It was good to see you."

"Ah, Cultivator Gwak. Could I ask you something?"

Yise called out as Gwak Chan said his farewells and made to leave. Gwak Chan shrugged and turned back.

"What's the atmosphere like in Winged Dragon Hall?"

"Haven't picked a hall yet? Just come to ours. It's a good place."

"I was told that once I choose, I'll have to stay until Core Formation. What exactly is good about it?"

"Already setting your sights on Core Formation? Well, with talent like yours, I suppose that's fair. Let's see... Good points? Our Hall Master is cute?"

"..."

"Hahaha! Isn't she? And, hmm. If I had to describe Winged Dragon Hall in one word, it'd be freedom."

Freedom. The resonance of that word caught Yise's attention.

"No rules, no restrictions, no support, and nobody really thinks about anything, you could say. For starters, the Hall Master herself is the very definition of a free spirit."

Yise nodded in agreement. It matched his impression exactly. Somehow, that didn't sound bad to him.

"Honestly, we're a neutral faction, so we don't much care who joins us. The other places are a little... Well, you know."

"What are they like?"

Gwak Chan asked what role he wanted, and Yise replied that he wanted to serve on the front lines in wartime.

"That narrows it down. First, Black Tortoise Hall is always going on about purebloods. They all form bonds as fellow disciples and call each other Senior Brother or Junior Brother according to their realms. The funny thing is, yesterday's Senior Brother can be today's Junior Brother. What kind of fucked-up family tree is that?"

"That sounds like the ordinary cultivation world to me."

"Fair enough," Gwak Chan agreed.

"Earth Guardian Hall is for Cultivators who were originally spirit beasts, so you don't qualify... Phoenix Hall is far too headstrong. They have absolutely no respect for the Chief Administrator. Whenever someone causes trouble, guess Phoenix Hall first and you'll almost always be right. Black Tortoise Hall comes second."

Counting on his fingers, he continued.

"If I had to recommend somewhere besides our hall, it'd be White Tiger Hall. Hall Master Asan is an admirable person, but their rules are incredibly strict, and they have group training, which leaves you a little short on time for personal cultivation. Still, if you want proper instruction in weapon arts, it's not bad."

"I see."

"Anyway, if you want a place on the front lines in wartime and haven't learned any other particular craft, you won't find anywhere better than Winged Dragon Hall. Have any other halls tried recruiting you?"

"No, not really."

At Yise's answer, Gwak Chan muttered, "That can't be right."

Then he nodded. "There we go."

"Speak of the devil. Looks like word's starting to get around."

Soon, Yise's divine sense also detected someone approaching. A female Foundation Establishment Cultivator walked in through the broken wall.

"Gossiping about the other Inner Halls? As frivolous as ever, I see."

"Gossiping? I'm passing along information. This is Jang Yeowon. We entered the sect together. She's with White Tiger Hall."

"Hello, Cultivator Jang."

Yise greeted her. She nodded, then went straight to the point.

"The great Core Formation Cultivator Asan, White Tiger Hall Master, sent me. He wishes to recruit you."

"Ah..."

"He said he would personally instruct you for a time to satisfy your desire for advancement."

"I see."

Yise looked at Gwak Chan, who merely shrugged.

Another Cultivator then walked in through the hole in the wall.

"What's this? Why is there a hole here? Hello, is Cultivator Yise in? I'm from Phoenix Hall."

The Cultivator from Phoenix Hall flinched upon seeing Gwak Chan and Jang Yeowon.

"Seniors, you're here too. Am I a step too late?"

"No. You're not late."

But that wasn't the end of it. A middle-aged man flew in from somewhere, landed, and walked through the broken wall.

There was a perfectly good gate. Why did everyone insist on coming through the wall?

The three Cultivators stiffened at once when they recognized the newcomer.

"Greetings, Black Tortoise Hall Master."

"You've come in person, Hall Master?"

As the three bowed to the man, Yise hurriedly followed suit.

Seol Baek, the Black Tortoise Hall Master. The man at the pinnacle of the pureblood Cultivators had come to see him in person.

The others respectfully stepped back, and Seol Baek approached at a leisurely pace.

"Cultivator Yi."

"Yes, Hall Master."

"I'll keep this brief. Join Black Tortoise Hall."

Yise hesitated before voicing his concern.

"But I heard Black Tortoise Hall only accepts pureblood Cultivators."

"Take a pureblood Cultivator of the main mountain as your dual-cultivation partner and become kin. Then we will shelter you with abundant support beyond anything you have ever known."

"..."

Somehow overwhelmed, Yise could find nothing to say.

* * *

After enduring the Cultivators' attentions, Yise headed straight to the Chief Administrator's office. At this rate, he would waste all his time receiving visitors instead of cultivating.

The moment he saw Chief Administrator Sugyeom, he all but shouted his declaration.

"I've decided, Chief Administrator. I'll join Winged Dragon Hall."

"Go to the Registry Office. They'll issue you a new identity token."

As though he had expected this, Sugyeom answered without so much as looking at Yise, let alone asking why.

"..."

Yise bowed and withdrew.

After receiving his new identity token at the Registry Office, he organized his next tasks.

The most urgent was equipment. He needed to replace his lost hand axe and shield and acquire Foundation Establishment ritual implements—especially ones capable of dealing with primordial energy.

He also needed to learn as many new cultivation methods and spells as possible, and pay his respects to Winged Dragon Hall Master U Yuhee, now his direct superior.

'Busy, busy.'

To address the most urgent matter first, Yise headed to the Mission Pavilion. He intended to have a hand axe made from the rock he had obtained in the Dark Heaven Secret Realm.

As soon as he entered, he was taken straight to Cultivator Guk, a Foundation Establishment staff member, without having to wait in line.

The main mountain was as consistent as ever in its preferential treatment.

Cultivator Guk examined the rock Yise presented from every angle with interest.

"A weapon made from rock obtained in the Dark Heaven Secret Realm, you say. Since it's for a Foundation Establishment Cultivator, you'll need a ritual-implement artisan at least at that realm. What price will you offer, Cultivator Yi?"

"Could we negotiate that at the interview?"

"You have a bad habit of making unfunny jokes."

It wasn't a joke...

Yise wondered why everyone took his words as jokes. By this point, he was beginning to reflect on whether he might be the problem.

"Could you tell me what a fair price would be? This is my first time commissioning anything."

"Commissions for Foundation Establishment Cultivators start at a hundred spirit stones, but ritual-implement artisans are so scarce that you'll need to offer around a thousand. Still, there are eccentrics whose eyes will light up at a new mineral. I recommend starting at five hundred and raising the price if you find no takers."

"I'll do that."

After posting his first mission request, Yise entrusted the Yellow Grand Parasol to Seol Ryeong for repairs and sold the Nine-Refinement Elixir Furnace he had obtained in the secret realm to Hong Wonseo for two hundred spirit stones.

Seeing that rare display of delight made him regret selling it so cheaply, but he decided to consider it another investment.

'Next I need to choose cultivation methods and spells... Should I ask Cultivator Gwak Chan?'

He still had spirit stones to spare, but Foundation Establishment secret manuals were expensive. Reckless spending would bankrupt him, so he decided to seek his senior's help.

That evening, Yise closed the jade slips containing the Soul-Returning Body-Entering Art.

Now that he had built up his basic knowledge of the Cultivation system, he could understand the method to some extent. It was a method for a great Cultivator at Core Formation or above to place their golden core or Nascent Soul inside another body after losing their own.

The only way known in the human realm for a spirit body to regain a lost physical body was through body-usurpation methods among the demonic cultivation methods. Even those required both individuals to be intact, extracting a living human's soul and stealing their body.

The Soul-Returning Body-Entering Art, however, could place a soul inside a combat puppet or a vessel-soul body even without a suitable physical body. It also allowed a soul to return when a golden core or Nascent Soul had spent so long outside its body that its intellect had grown clouded.

It was an unfathomably profound method that could even transfer another's soul, not merely one's own.

'The Upper Realm's cultivation methods truly defy imagination.'

He had no idea what realm was required to learn it, but he was certain it was at least Core Formation.

Having finished his preliminary interpretation of the Soul-Returning Body-Entering Art, he began reading the list of recommended Foundation Establishment cultivation and spell manuals Cultivator Gwak Chan had given him.

'What should I learn?'

New knowledge, new techniques, new power. All of them thrilled him.

Yise's eyes sparkled with childlike excitement.

* * *

Jinju Fortress, Kingdom of Suari.

Kkeoksoe, a privately owned slave at the Flower Pavilion, entered the darkened pleasure house to clean the courtesans' rooms. Given the nature of the establishment, its lights only went out in the early hours of the morning. Working with his days and nights reversed was nothing unusual for him.

DRIP. DRIP.

"What's that?"

He heard what sounded like dripping water somewhere. Rain began falling a moment later.

The sky hadn't even been cloudy today. Where had this predawn rain come from?

DRIP. DRIP.

But something was strange. Amid the patter of gentle rain, there was an odd dripping sound.

DRIP.

A drop wet his forehead, and Kkeoksoe looked up.

'Is the roof leaking?'

Yet the liquid running down from the crown of his head had a strange smell. It was metallic and sticky.

'Blood?'

Blood was dripping... from the rafters.

He looked up to see what was happening. Nothing was visible.

The blood poured down in an ever-growing torrent, soaking the floor. Then a severed arm dropped to the ground.

Kkeoksoe toppled backward, too startled even to scream.

Legs, a torso, and a head fell in succession.

What on earth was happening? Was he dreaming?

Trembling violently, Kkeoksoe scrambled backward on his backside.

The dismembered pieces of the body quietly found their places on the dirt floor. The corpse's parts joined together, and a naked woman rose.

"A g-g-g-ghost...!"

Her skin was like white jade, her body impossibly slender. Her eyes were entirely white, without a single trace of blood.

CRACK. CRACK-CRACK.

Her limbs moved grotesquely like those of a puppet in a puppet show. Then her head jerked to one side, and she lunged at him.

CRACK-CRACK-CRACK-CRACK-CRACK-CRACK-CRACK-CRACK.

A scream rang through the Flower Pavilion.