## Chapter 1515 – 1515. The Path Of Ascending Light
I stared blankly at Mireyeong. She wore a serious expression. Honestly, I didn’t understand her.
“Is it serious?”
“It is serious. You know that this world is fundamentally connected to other worlds, right?”
“I know. Typically, there’s the Immortal Realm, the Underworld, the Beast Realm, and the Intermediate Realm, right?”
Those are the four main worlds. There seem to be other minor worlds, but the four largest are those. The place I’m in now is the Intermediate Realm. When a living being dies, they fall to the Underworld, and when they ascend, they rise to the Immortal Realm.
And ascending is an incredibly difficult thing to do.
“Each world has its own laws. These laws are intertwined to maintain the world. But if Underworld magic is floating around in the Intermediate Realm? This could be seen as the Underworld trying to influence the Intermediate Realm. Starting with this, in the worst-case scenario, the balance could be shaken, and the laws could change.”
“Then what happens?”
“The Intermediate Realm would fall into chaos. A very massive chaos.”
“So, you’re saying that Mook Ji-ryun spreading the Reverse Demon Art in the Intermediate Realm is the will of the Underworld?”
“It could be, or it might not be. There’s no way I would know the will of the Underworld, right?”
“…Hmm. So, what you’re saying is that we need to stop the Reverse Demon Art from spreading?”
“No.”
She shook her head as if she had heard something incomprehensible. I looked at her with a strange expression.
“Then what should we do?”
“That depends on what you, my husband, want to do. I have the power to protect myself even if the world is in chaos, so it doesn’t matter to me. But it wouldn’t be the same for others. What do you want to do, my husband?”
“I’m not going to do anything. In the first place, it doesn’t make sense for the world to be filled with chaos just because of some magic or whatever.”
“Hmm. That’s true. There’s no way the Underworld’s plan would be this sloppy… And the Immortal Realm wouldn’t just sit still either. It’s highly likely that this will end as a kind of happening.”
I don’t know if it will really end as a happening. Because of what happened at the Manmu Tower last time, I had a feeling that the Underworld was doing something. And this world is a mishmash of various creations. Something could happen in a place I don’t know about. Or maybe it already has.
“We just need to do what we have to do. Let’s wrap this up and go. What are you going to do with that Reverse Demon Art?”
“Could you give it to me? I want to study the magic of the Underworld. This kind of opportunity is rare.”
“I don’t care.”
“Oh, speaking of which… Could you lend me the Path of Ascending Light too?”
“The Path of Ascending Light? Why?”
“I heard that the Path of Ascending Light can also enhance magic, right? I want to know how it’s enhanced. I think there might be some gains from studying the enhanced magic.”
Come to think of it, there was a way to use the Path of Ascending Light like that. From Mireyeong’s perspective, the Path of Ascending Light could be a source of inspiration.
The Path of Ascending Light, which can enhance anything. It’s truly an amazing item.
“Okay. I’ll lend it to you.”
I said it without much thought. Right now, the Path of Ascending Light was mainly used to enhance elixirs. I already had quite a few enhanced elixirs, so it didn’t matter if I lent it to Mireyeong.
“Yay!”
Mireyeong was happy. She put the Reverse Demon Art into her own space created with space magic.
After waiting for a while, Gu Ji-geom Jeong-cheok approached from between the trees. The smell of blood was strong.
“Great Hero. Judging by the traces of battle, it seems you’ve already had a fight with the Black Tiger.”
“I killed the Black Tiger. I took the corpse.”
“Can you show the corpse when we return to Baewol City? We need to convince the client.”
“Well, I don’t mind that much. But the ownership of the corpse is mine. And I’ll be sure to get paid properly.”
“Of course. Great Hero Mujuk Yujin is entitled to that.”
Mujuk Yujin. At first, I chuckled, thinking it was funny, but after hearing it repeatedly, it sounded like they were making fun of me.
“My name is actually Yujin. Call me Yujin from now on.”
“Understood. Great Hero Yu.”
I was about to say something but closed my mouth. There was no need to reveal my real name. It was also annoying.
“What happened to the stragglers?”
“The vagrants? The Black Tiger? Who are you talking about?”
I could tell from that question. Jeong-cheok, this guy was acting like a righteous hero, but in reality, he didn’t care about human lives at all. He wouldn’t even bat an eye if all the vagrants died. Well, it wasn’t strange. I was the same way.
“Both.”
“Thanks to Great Hero Yu taking care of the leader, the Black Tiger, our losses were small. The Black Tiger and a few survivors escaped. Since the leader died here, they won’t appear around here, so we won’t pursue them. And please return the Blood Opening Blade. It’s a cherished item.”
“It was quite useful.”
I gave him the Blood Opening Blade and returned to Baewol City first. There was no reason for me to help the vagrants with the cleanup.
***
A week passed.
I met with the chief craftsman, Hwang So-dong.
“What brings you here? My answer is the same as before. I have no intention of leaving this city.”
“Really? That’s a shame. I also came to commission some work today.”
“…Work, you say?”
I took out a sword and the Black Tiger’s corpse from my spatial storage. Hwang So-dong’s gaze first went to the sword.
“May I touch the sword?”
“Go ahead.”
Hwang So-dong picked up the sword and slowly examined it. His expression was filled with surprise.
“It’s not something made with special craftsmanship. But it’s a masterpiece. The person who made this sword is more skilled than me when it comes to blacksmithing. May I ask who made this sword?”
“I don’t know either.”
“That’s a shame. I understand why you showed me the sword. The sword is cursed.”
“It was two days ago. I killed a guy I didn’t like at a brothel. He was a sorcerer. Before he died, he cursed me. I tried to get rid of it roughly… but the curse stuck to the sword.”
“Hmm. In this case, it’s better to reforge it. However… my skills are lacking, so it will become a worse sword than it was originally.”
“Really? Then I guess I’ll just have to throw it away.”
“……Throw it away? This good sword?”
“Do you think I only have one sword? I have many other good swords besides this one.”
It was one of the swords made by the dwarves. The dwarf had rarely shouted that it was a masterpiece, but I didn’t care about that, and I wore it because it looked decent.
“Excuse me. If it’s okay, I’d like to buy this sword.”
“A cursed sword?”
“There are ways to purify the curse by asking a sorcerer. You can also seal the curse and use it. Above all, it’s such a good sword that I want to study it.”
I thought that if I had taken it to Mireyeong first, she would have removed the curse, but I stopped.
Mireyeong was busy studying the Reverse Demon Art right now. I didn’t want to bother her with just a sword like this.
“How much will you give me?”
“I would like to replace the purchase with something else. Bringing the Black Tiger’s corpse means you want to commission me to make a magical artifact.”
“You’re saying you’ll make a magical artifact for free instead of money?”
“Yes. Are you satisfied?”
“Well, it’s not bad.”
“However, the magical artifacts that can be made with this Black Tiger’s corpse are limited. The meat and internal organs are useless, and the best parts are the skin and claws.”
“What I want is a robe. I want it to be sturdy, and I want it to have a function that maintains cleanliness.”
“Cleanliness, you say? That’s unexpected. People usually don’t want that kind of effect…”
“It’s uncomfortable when blood gets on it. And it’s annoying to change clothes.”
“Understood.”
“How many days will it take?”
“It will take fifteen days.”
***
Fifteen days later, I met Hwang So-dong again.
In his hands was a magnificent black robe. It was so black that it reminded me of a night sky without a single star.
“This is the Black Tiger Robe. I named it simply.”
“Unlike the name, it doesn’t feel like tiger skin at all.”
“Craftsmanship is different from simply cutting leather and making clothes. In the process of processing, additional materials are mixed in, and it’s common for the original texture or shape to change. But the fabric still contains the characteristics of the Black Tiger’s skin. It won’t be cut by most swords.”
“No, I’m not blaming you. It’s good, actually. What about cleanliness?”
“The Black Tiger Robe absorbs blood and shakes off other dirt. Even if the Black Tiger Robe is torn, it will regenerate if you feed it blood.”
“I like it very much.”
I smiled with satisfaction.
I put on the Black Tiger Robe. I liked the feel of the soft fabric, like silk. I even summoned the Hwaryeon Flying Blades and put them on my waist, striking a pose. The atmosphere of a supreme martial artist was truly alive.
Hwang So-dong’s eyes widened. He swallowed hard and carefully approached me.
“That sword, I can feel an extraordinary power from that sword! Just once! Please show it to me just once! I’m begging you!”
“The Hwaryeon Flying Blades? The Hwaryeon Flying Blades are my cherished swords. Do you think I’d show them to a pervert like you? Get lost!”
“Huk…!”
Hwang So-dong, feeling the killing intent, stepped back and bowed his head. I wanted to cut him down, but he was someone I needed to recruit. And seeing the Black Tiger Robe, my annoyance quickly disappeared.
I looked at the red blade of the Hwaryeon Flying Blades. I noticed the cracked part.
‘I need to fix the Hwaryeon Flying Blades soon…’
I put the Hwaryeon Flying Blades into my inventory. I won’t use the Hwaryeon Flying Blades for a while. The cracked Hwaryeon Flying Blades might completely break in battle.
‘Even if it’s not another world, this is the world of the Path of Ascending Light. It’s a world where I can’t let my guard down.’
So, I’ll save the Hwaryeon Flying Blades as much as possible.
There are many other usable swords besides the Hwaryeon Flying Blades. Swords that I squeezed out of the dwarves, masterpieces among masterpieces. Of course, they are inferior to the Hwaryeon Flying Blades.
I wore a reasonably cool sword and wandered around the city.
It was natural to want to take a walk when you wore new clothes.
‘Look, you weaklings. This is the demeanor of a martial arts master!’
Flap, flap!
I walked down the street, my robe fluttering. Everyone who saw me stepped aside. They were all intimidated by the demeanor of a master.
It would have been even better if some ignorant martial arts weaklings had picked a fight with me… but unfortunately, that didn’t happen. My reputation had already spread throughout Baewol City.
‘Huh?’
A strange sight caught my eye. Some of the women on the street were wearing hanboks. I rubbed my eyes with my hands, thinking I had seen wrong, and looked again.
It was still a hanbok.
‘Why a hanbok?’
There was only one thing I could guess.
‘It seems that Mireyeong wearing hanboks all the time has become a trend.’
There was a commonality among the women wearing hanboks. They were all young and had fair skin. In this world, having fair skin meant that you were rich enough not to have to do manual labor.
I was a little surprised, but it wasn’t a problem.
It wasn’t like I was losing anything because hanboks were becoming popular.
Anyway, I walked around the streets, showing off my robe.
