## Chapter 1519 – 1519. Ascending To The Light
Mireyeong and I headed towards the Jongnam Sect, located at the highest point of the city.
Between the city and the Jongnam Sect were three thousand steps. The stone steps were uneven, making the climb difficult.
Honestly, the moment I saw the steps, I couldn’t help but sigh. If I felt this way, how would ordinary people feel? They would probably feel despair. Yet, despite this, they climbed the steps, sweating profusely without a single complaint.
“Why are the steps laid out like this? Was there no other way?”
“If they wanted to, there would have been many ways. Well, I guess the biggest reason is their sense of superiority.”
“Wasn’t the Jongnam Sect a Taoist sect? Is this okay?”
“That’s why they’re doing this, because they’re a Taoist sect. Surprisingly, Taoists care a lot about authority. They think they need to enlighten the ignorant masses…”
I sighed and climbed the steps. As I got closer to the entrance of the Jongnam Sect, I felt a strange energy. It was an energy that seemed to subtly pressure the body.
“Hmm?”
“The concentration of energy is dense. They deliberately increased the energy concentration using sorcery.”
“Why?”
“To pretend it’s a mystical energy. Look at the other people. Their expressions are stiff. It’s to imprint on the minds of ordinary people that the Jongnam Sect is special.”
“In short, they’re scamming people.”
“This isn’t even considered a scam. Other major sects do the same thing.”
At the entrance stood a Jongnam Sect warrior.
He was taller and more handsome than the others. It was clear that they deliberately placed a handsome warrior at the entrance.
“Please write your name in the guestbook and donate one silver coin to the Jongnam Sect.”
He spoke in a disciplined voice. At the same time, his eyes darted towards Mireyeong. I suppressed the urge to punch him in the head and asked him,
“The Jongnam Sect isn’t short on money, so why are you taking money?”
“Our Jongnam Sect is a sect that works for the peace of Jongnam City, and by extension, the martial world. All donations are used as funds for activities for the peace of the martial world.”
He spoke very grandly.
In my eyes, it just looked like a desperate attempt to get even the smallest profit.
“I see. That’s impressive.”
I handed him two silver coins, including Mireyeong’s share.
“Thank you. I will write in the guestbook for you. Normally, it is the principle that you write it yourself, but I personally respect the Great Swordsman of Joseon. I would like to do this much for you.”
“You know me?”
“How could I not? The reputation of the Great Swordsman of Joseon is well-known even within the Jongnam Sect.”
“I see. I don’t know much about the Jongnam Heavenly Rite, so what should I do?”
“First, there is an area marked with red ropes. It is not allowed for outsiders, so please avoid it as much as possible. Except for that area, you are free to roam around. In the western building, we sell special dishes prepared by the Jongnam Sect, so please be sure to visit. The rites are held every two hours at the central altar. And…”
He spoke as if he was pouring out words.
‘It feels more like a small event than a rite.’
I wrote in the guestbook and entered the Jongnam Sect. Mireyeong also used a pseudonym instead of her real name. She and I wandered around.
“Ah, what is this? There’s not much to see.”
“What were you expecting in this era?”
“I thought it would be at least as good as a high school festival… but it’s not even that.”
Mireyeong puffed out her cheeks as if she was dissatisfied. It was a kind of aegyo. I wondered if she wasn’t embarrassed, but because her beauty was so outstanding, she looked cute no matter what she did.
“Did you figure out the structure of the Jongnam Sect?”
“That’s probably the library, and that’s probably the lecture hall. There should be a warehouse near the lecture hall. It’s hidden, so I don’t know the exact location.”
“Does that mean we have to move around and find it ourselves? We shouldn’t cause a commotion, right?”
“There are at least three people stronger than you, Master.”
“If we move as quietly as possible, we should be able to manage.”
I glanced around. The Jongnam Sect members were moving busily. They seemed flustered from the first day, so their vigilance would probably be more relaxed tomorrow or the day after.
‘It’s not a difficult task. I just need to sneak in and steal the sorcery books and elixirs. It would be even better if there were any magical artifacts.’
Mireyeong stared intently at one spot. I waited quietly. There was no way she would be looking at one spot for no reason.
After staring at that spot for a while, Mireyeong sighed deeply.
“Is there something there?”
“There’s a space hidden by a barrier.”
“A treasure vault?”
“It doesn’t feel like that. It feels like they’ve sealed something dangerous… It’s best not to go that way.”
“Okay. I’ll keep that in mind.”
Ding-dong-ding.
A bell rang. A Jongnam Sect warrior was ringing a large bell and shouting to the people around.
“The Jongnam Heavenly Rite will begin soon! Participate in the rite and accumulate good karma!”
I chuckled.
“It seems like you accumulate good karma by participating in the rite.”
“If that were the case, everyone would be doing rites every day.”
“Since we’re here, shall we take a look?”
“Don’t expect too much. You’ll be disappointed.”
Mireyeong was right.
I thought the rite would be quite grand. But it wasn’t. A sorcerer who seemed to be the ritual master read a Taoist scripture in front of the altar, created a flame with sorcery, and that was it. The people who participated in the rite bowed and it was over.
The rite only took 15 minutes from start to finish.
I thought they would at least slaughter a cow or pig, but all they did was light a fire and end it.
“Is this okay?”
“It doesn’t matter. These kinds of rituals are meaningful in the fact that they were performed.”
“I thought Taoist rituals would be more sacred…”
“There are immortals in this world. They are in the immortal realm. But just performing a rite won’t make an immortal give you an answer. Basically, the immortal realm and the middle realm don’t interfere with each other. The Jongnam Sect knows this, so they just perform the rite casually.”
“How boring.”
“This world is originally boring. Let’s go back and make a plan. It doesn’t seem like we need to deeply analyze the barrier, so if we plan the time and route…”
Kwaaaaaang!
An explosion rang out.
Mireyeong and I stopped talking and turned our gaze towards the source of the explosion. The entrance. More precisely, the area where Jongnam City was located. Looking up at the sky, six plumes of black smoke were rising from the city.
Mireyeong and I looked at each other. We both sensed the same thing.
‘A variable has occurred.’
And because of this variable, we had to revise our plan.
“…A sudden terrorist attack in the city. It’s hard to see it as a coincidence, right?”
“Does the Jongnam Sect have any enemies?”
“The Demonic Cult?”
“It’s not the Heavenly Demon Cult. They wouldn’t do something like this even if they were going to cause trouble.”
“I don’t know the details, but they probably have enemies. They’re a major sect with a history of over thousands of years. The important thing is what we do here.”
“Can’t we just proceed with the plan?”
“The Jongnam Sect isn’t stupid, do you think they’ll just continue the Jongnam Heavenly Rite? And after being attacked once, the Jongnam Sect’s vigilance will increase.”
“That means we either give up completely, or start the plan right now.”
“What do you want to do?”
“How long have I been waiting for this day… I can’t give up.”
“Okay. Let’s go outside the Jongnam Sect first.”
“Go outside? We just got in here?”
“The barrier has been activated. If we do anything here, we’ll be caught immediately. It’s better to start from the outside.”
“Okay.”
We went outside. The Jongnam Sect warriors were in a state of panic due to the sudden situation, running around in confusion. First, they started preventing people from going outside.
“Please calm down! This is the Jongnam Sect!”
“Please calmly gather at the right training ground!”
“Do not be afraid! We will resolve the situation!”
We avoided the shouting warriors and entered the forest. The burning city was visible. Mireyeong spoke in a cold voice.
“Monsters are rampaging. There are some quite strong monsters mixed in.”
“Monsters suddenly attacking Jongnam City today… It’s definitely not a coincidence.”
“It’s probably to draw attention. The Jongnam Sect has a duty to protect the people who gathered to participate in the Jongnam Heavenly Rite, so they’re basically shackled to one foot. It’s the perfect timing to draw attention away from the Jongnam Sect.”
“So the real target is something else. We can’t just stand by. Let’s hurry.”
Mireyeong handed me a talisman. It was a concealment talisman that hid our appearance and presence. And then, she created two other talismans on the spot and handed them to me.
“If you have this talisman, you can pass through the Jongnam Sect’s barrier, and this talisman is for checking sorcery. If you put the talisman on a suspicious place, it will detect and react to sorcery. Do you need any more talismans?”
“This is enough. What are you going to do?”
Mireyeong smiled quietly. It was a cold smile. Not the silly smile she usually showed. If I had to describe it, it was like the smile of a villainous executive.
“I’ll stir up the chaos in the city. To make the Jongnam Sect even more confused. The Jongnam Sect will think it’s the monsters, not me. Thinking about it that way, it’s actually a good thing. Hehe.”
“Don’t overdo it. Don’t overdo it.”
“Yes.”
Leaving Mireyeong’s unreliable answer behind, I used the concealment talisman and infiltrated the Jongnam Sect.
•••
First, I headed to the lecture hall, which was nearby.
Woo-oong.
The talisman Mireyeong gave me glowed. I pushed my body into the gap in the barrier. As I entered the lecture hall building, I reflexively inhaled. There was a unique bitter smell of herbs. I looked around. Elixirs were visible.
‘These are common things. Elixirs that can be easily obtained with money. They’ll be useful someday if I have them. I can also exchange them for money.’
I put all the elixirs into my spatial storage. There were cauldrons and equipment for making elixirs. Next to them was a book with elixir-making techniques written on it.
‘This is also worth money. Let’s take it.’
I’ll take it for now. It was always beneficial to take everything.
‘Where are the completed elixirs or rare elixirs? The Jongnam Sect is one of the Nine Great Sects, so they must have something amazing.’
I had to find the warehouse. The warehouse where they kept rare elixirs and elixirs.
I wandered around inside the lecture hall. It was quite large, and I found a door at the end of the passage. I immediately reached out towards the door. Clank, clank. The door was locked. I was about to break the door but stopped.
‘This is the Jongnam Sect. It wouldn’t be strange if they did something to the door.’
They might have placed a sorcery on it.
I took out the talisman Mireyeong gave me. It was a talisman that detected sorcery. I put it on the door, but there was no reaction.
‘Was I too sensitive?’
I was about to smash the door but stopped.
‘There was a clanking sound, right? A door with a doorknob?’
I stared at the door. The steel door was similar to a modern door. It was an object that didn’t fit the civilization level of this era.
‘It’s a mechanical array.’
It was the over-technology of the martial arts world. If I handled this carelessly, I would definitely suffer.
I hesitated for a moment and then activated my lightning energy.
Pajijik.
