* * *

Jade slips lay piled into a mountain on one side of his residence. Even after he had whittled down his selection time and again, the sheer volume felt daunting. They were all new cultivation methods and spells Yise had purchased from the libraries.

Reaching Foundation Establishment had vastly expanded the range of spells he could learn. There were particularly many that used divine sense. Prime examples included Mind Reading, which detected an opponent’s lies; Sense-Severing, which temporarily cut off an opponent’s divine sense; and Voice Transmission, which conveyed speech without allowing bystanders to hear.

Yise was still unskilled at using divine sense, however, so for now he had purchased only those three spells and chosen to supplement them with unusual cultivation methods and more five-element spells.

First came the Divine Thunderclap Art, which he had coveted most of all, followed by the wind-attribute Wind-Breaking Qi-Shattering Art. Lightning- and wind-attribute cultivation methods offered endless applications, so he had made those his first purchases. The problem was that they required lightning-spirit and wind-spirit sites, respectively. In more ways than one, these methods had high barriers to entry.

He had also added five useful-looking spells from the five-element cultivation methods.

Living Wood Art, which rapidly boosted the body’s regenerative ability.

Metal Body Art, which created metal to temporarily replace missing body parts.

Water Arrow Art, which formed water into arrows for piercing attacks.

Firefall Art, which dropped balls of fire from the sky like meteors.

Earth-Travel Art, which allowed the caster to burrow underground and move through it.

On top of those were the various spells of the Demon-Exorcizing Spirit Foundation Establishment Art and three Foundation Establishment spells from the Dokkaebi Shadow-Gathering Demonic Art. As soon as he reached Foundation Establishment, he had expanded his spell repertoire to his heart’s content.

So far, the secret manuals had cost him a total of 5,500 spirit stones. Aside from the money set aside for a hand axe and shield, he had effectively invested every spare spirit stone he owned. Dine Before You Depart was back in business and bringing in a steady income, but...

‘This really is like pouring water into a bottomless jar...’

Resources were one thing, but the sheer number of spells and cultivation methods he had acquired all at once made his head feel ready to burst. Every method and spell had its own training stages, from the first star to the tenth. In other words, to draw out their full power, he had to reach Great Attainment in each one separately.

Foundation Establishment Cultivators lived an average of three hundred years. When he first heard that, it had seemed an unfathomably long time.

‘I have to cultivate, carry out missions, earn spirit stones, practice using primordial energy and divine sense, and learn cultivation methods and spells.’

Now that his tasks had piled up into a mountain, even a thousand years seemed insufficient.

‘Even ten bodies wouldn’t be enough.’

Yise sighed briefly, then decided to prioritize using primordial energy and improving his mastery of his new spells.

‘Focus on what’s useful in actual combat.’

Choosing his priorities and concentrating on them. That was what he needed now.

* * *

- All Winged Dragon Hall members. Assemble at Winged Dragon Hall.

Yise rose when a message talisman flew into his cultivation room. This was his first summons since joining Winged Dragon Hall.

‘But it doesn’t say where I’m supposed to go.’

As he stared down at the talisman, Gwak Chan poked his head over the wall.

“You got it too?”

“Ah, Cultivator Gwak.”

“No idea where to go, right? Come with me.”

“Thank you.”

Smiling, Gwak Chan leaped over the wall and landed before him. He led Yise deep into the Inner Hall district, to a building bearing the words Winged Dragon Hall.

“Winged Dragon Hall is both the organization’s name and the building’s name. When we’re summoned, this is usually where you come.”

“Understood.”

Winged Dragon Hall was a simple establishment: a single large training ground with one hall attached. It appeared to serve no purpose beyond providing a gathering place for its members. Several Foundation Establishment Cultivators had already arrived inside. Recognizing Irang, Yise greeted her with a silent bow.

Before long, more Cultivators filed in, and U Yuhee entered last. As soon as she arrived, Irang took her place beside her.

“Gu Myeongsu and Doha are out on missions.”

“Mm.”

U Yuhee climbed onto a high dais and looked down over the members.

“I wanted to introduce our new member.”

A whistle sounded from somewhere.

FWEEET!

“Yise.”

“Yes, Hall Master.”

At her call, Yise stood and bowed in every direction.

“So you’re the famous Demonic Beast Crusher.”

“I saw you at Dine Before You Depart! Remember me?”

“What’s your relationship with Irang? A little brother she’s been hiding?”

“Shut your mouth, Huiya.”

The fervent welcome left Yise flustered, at a loss for what to do. He had heard the atmosphere was relaxed, but he had never imagined it would be this uninhibited.

“Introduce yourself.”

At Hall Master U Yuhee’s words, Yise blushed with embarrassment and stumbled through his introduction. He had never done anything like this before.

“My name is Yise. I’m from Aegul County in Tabaro... and I grew up at Gwisu Temple.”

“Ooh!” The mention of Gwisu Temple drew fascinated exclamations from the members.

“Questions. First three.”

At U Yuhee’s words, the female Cultivator at the very front shot up her hand. She was the one who had been called Huiya.

“May I ask why you chose to join us?”

That was relatively easy to answer, and Yise relaxed somewhat.

“There are many people here I owe a debt to. Staying close gives me opportunities to repay them.”

“A debt?”

“Yes. To the Hall Master, Cultivator Gwak, and Cultivator I.”

Hall Master U Yuhee had healed him twice: once after he fell victim to the blood-formation demonic practitioner, and once after his encounter with the great Core Formation Cultivator in the Jeong Empire. Cultivator Gwak Chan had saved him and his companions from a Foundation Establishment demonic practitioner. When he entered the Dark Heaven Secret Realm, Cultivator Irang had readily offered him information and even a precious spiritual-herb pouch.

If he did not know where to go, he would go where he had debts to repay. That was the conclusion he had reached after much thought.

“Hahaha! That’s why you should always accumulate good karma. The sages’ teachings never steer you wrong!”

“You were just doing your mission.”

“What a hurtful thing to say. Do you know how hard I ran the moment I saw that lightning?”

“You were riding a flying sword.”

“... You’re really giving me hell in front of our junior, aren’t you?”

“If you don’t like it, come at me.”

“Damn, you want to go?”

Looking thoroughly tired of this, U Yuhee raised a finger. The two floated into the air, then were hurled outside.

“Out. Both of you. Loser stays out.”

A commotion erupted outside. A little later, Irang returned alone.

“I sent Gwak Chan to his cultivation room.”

“Good.”

The next question soon followed.

“What kind of spiritual root do you have? With that cultivation speed, it must be a single-attribute root, right?”

This question was somewhat awkward. When Yise glanced at U Yuhee, she answered for him.

“Five-attribute spiritual root. Unusual constitution. Next.”

This time, a rather fierce-looking man raised his hand. Someone shouted, “Cut that bastard’s hand off!” But he ignored them and went ahead with his question.

“Which woman in Winged Dragon Hall is closest to your ideal type? If you had to choose just one as your dual-cultivation partner for life?”

“...”

The members put their hands to their foreheads in embarrassment. Someone kicked the man in the face. Yise cleared his throat and looked at U Yuhee, but she stood there without reacting.

“Surely... I don’t have to answer that?”

“You do. Answer when asked. That’s the rule.”

“...”

Yise felt that just when he thought he understood the cultivation world, it baffled him all over again.

‘The Foundation Establishment Cultivators I know aren’t like this...’

Still, since he apparently had to answer, he gave the obvious correct response.

“Hall Master U Yuhee.”

“Booo!” Jeers immediately poured in.

“Look at this power-hungry opportunist! You don’t even know what Hall Master U looks like. Already sucking up to power at your age!”

It was not exactly wrong, so Yise offered no rebuttal. Siding with the most powerful person was simply common sense. In any case, U Yuhee’s lips were twitching with apparent satisfaction. That was enough.

“You look pleased, Hall Master.”

“Quiet.”

Once Yise’s introduction was over, the members introduced themselves by name, one after another. There were thirty-four of them, excluding the two absent members and the one who had been beaten and expelled from the gathering. Including Yise, that made thirty-eight in total.

‘Fewer than I expected.’

The main mountain was known to have a little over five hundred Foundation Establishment Cultivators. Since Azure Dragon Hall had no members, he had expected about fifty here.

“He says his goal is Core Formation. Help him along. And work hard yourselves if you don’t want to fall behind a mere child.”

“Yes, Hall Master!”

Core Formation. Hearing the words from his Hall Master made the goal feel a little more tangible. Of more than ten thousand Qi Refining Cultivators, five hundred had broken through to Foundation Establishment. Of those five hundred, only ten had reached Core Formation. And among them, only one had attained Nascent Soul. It truly was like passing through the eye of a needle.

Yise’s own determination burned anew. Just then, a message talisman fluttered toward him.

- Mandatory mission assigned. Escort a shaman on mission duty. Rendezvous: main mountain entrance.

A mandatory mission. They had said missions would be assigned at irregular intervals, but sending him out after only a few days... Apparently, they were not going to overlook all the time he had spent off duty.

“Mission?”

“Yes. A mandatory mission.”

“Go on. Everyone dismissed.”

Yise bowed to U Yuhee and headed for the rendezvous.

‘A shaman escort mission.’

It was probably an evil-spirit extermination mission. He recalled the Bamboo Tube Beauty mission he had carried out with Seol Ryeong. Looking back, he had truly gone on missions without knowing a damn thing.

“Huh?”

And there was Seol Ryeong at the rendezvous.

“You’re the one on the mission?”

“Yes. I got a mandatory mission too.”

“You’ve got it easy. A Qi Refining Cultivator getting a distinguished Foundation Establishment Cultivator as an escort.”

“You really know how to piss me off...”

Mission partners were usually chosen from among acquaintances to minimize unnecessary conflict. Even so, he had not expected them to pair a Qi Refining Cultivator with a Foundation Establishment Cultivator. There had to be another reason. It was probably because he had reached Foundation Establishment while putting off missions for the past several years.

‘Looks like they plan to work me hard on missions for a while.’

Yise had a feeling he would be dragged all over the place whenever anything required a Foundation Establishment Cultivator.

In any case, he had to earn his keep. Was this not a generous sect that had even repaired his damaged residence free of charge? Cultivator Gwak Chan had said, [“Wow, they really do give promising talents special treatment,”] but Yise did not think that was the reason.

He turned to Seol Ryeong.

“What’s the mission?”

Instead of answering, she showed him the mission sheet.

- Location: Jinju Fortress, Suari

- Objective: Exterminate an evil spirit (estimated Level 6–9)

“If it’s Level Six, it’s Level Six. If it’s Level Nine, it’s Level Nine. What’s this Six to Nine business? An unidentified Demon?”

“That type of evil spirit is usually Level Nine, but the outer affiliates’ outpost reported it as Level Six difficulty. The Demonic Energy of vengeful ghosts really does vary enormously depending on the grudge they bear.”

“Must have died a terribly unjust death.”

Accumulated evil karma and lingering resentment created Demons. Thus, one should avoid accumulating evil karma and strive to accumulate good karma whenever possible. Why on earth did people live their lives disregarding such a basic principle?

“So what’s the evil spirit we’re exterminating?”

“A Courtesan’s Grievance Demon.”

Yise frowned. Though uncommon, it was a fairly well-known evil spirit.

“A Demon born when a courtesan who was raped and murdered bears a grudge and becomes a vengeful ghost.”