## Chapter 1808 – 1808. The Ascent To The Light
“Please calm down. I’m not trying to pick a fight with you, sir.”
The merchant spoke in a composed voice. His two eyes were different from each other. His left eye was black, and his right eye was golden. The golden eye had an alien aura about it.
“Is that eye a magical artifact?”
“Yes! You’re a master of the Five Qi! You recognized it right away! It’s a magical artifact called the Golden Crystal Eye! It can discern the aura of a target. You’re cultivating both thunder and demonic energy, sir. This Patch-Separating Grass will be a great help to you.”
I gauged the merchant’s strength. His cultivation was at the early stage of the Transcendent Realm. If I went all out, I could kill him in one blow.
‘If I had my way, I’d kill all the bastards here and take their stuff.’
But reality wasn’t so simple. There were many here that I couldn’t easily deal with. Just Hong Ganghu and Baekran alone were masters of the Five Qi. The weak merchant in front of me was probably acting up because he trusted in the power of the Floating Cloud Merchant Guild.
“Are you also affiliated with the Floating Cloud Merchant Guild?”
“Yes, well, all the merchants here are affiliated with the Floating Cloud Merchant Guild.”
“Where did you get all these elixirs? You didn’t pick them directly from the mountains, did you?”
“It’s not really a big secret, so I’ll tell you. I bought them from the Floating Cloud Merchant Guild. I have a contract with them.”
“…A contract? You don’t sell these expensive elixirs directly, but use contract merchants?”
From the Floating Cloud Merchant Guild’s perspective, wouldn’t that be more of a loss?
“I don’t know the details either. Maybe it’s because they don’t have enough manpower. More importantly, sir, the Patch-Separating Grass is really an elixir that will help you.”
“Help, my ass.”
It was a decent elixir, but I didn’t need it right now.
“I need an elixir that will help me reach the Three Peaks Realm.”
“Gasp. You’re aiming for the Three Peaks Realm? I’m sorry, but our shop doesn’t sell auxiliary elixirs. The supply is too small… And auxiliary elixirs are a concentrated management item for large forces, so they’re not easily available on the market.”
I had hoped, but it was as I expected.
I took out a spatial container from my pocket. What I took out of the spatial container was an elixir.
『White Night Grass
A medicinal herb that purifies the blood.』
It was one of the herbs that often appeared as a reward for a week’s attendance check. Of course, it wasn’t an ordinary herb. This herb was imbued with spiritual energy.
“Whoa! A top-grade White Night Grass!”
“I heard you buy elixirs too. Will you buy it?”
“White Night Grass, which purifies the blood, is the main ingredient in antidotes. And it even has spiritual energy… Of course, I’ll buy it! Four heavenly jades! How about it?!”
“Only four heavenly jades? Are you trying to rip me off? Do you want to die?”
I raised my aura and pressured the merchant with killing intent. The merchant’s complexion turned pale in an instant. The merchant trembled, but he didn’t collapse.
“Four is already a fair price! It’s a White Night Grass with spiritual energy, but White Night Grass is originally a herb used for detoxification and the sick! I can’t give you more than that!”
The merchant shouted as if he was screaming. The desperate cry drew attention to this side. The ronin affiliated with the Floating Cloud Merchant Guild were slowly gathering this way.
Most of them were just martial artists who had reached the Transcendent Realm, but there were many of them. I lowered my aura.
‘Tch. I was going to pressure him to lower the price… but it’s not working.’
The merchant prepared four heavenly jades while panting.
“H-here are four heavenly jades…!”
“I’ll do the deal later. I need to look around the market first.”
“There won’t be any merchant who will trade that White Night Grass for more than four heavenly jades!”
“Shut up. I’ll be back after looking around, so wait.”
I hid my greed and looked around the stalls. If there was anything that caught my eye, I asked the merchant about it.
“What are these gloves?”
“They’re gloves called Poison Birth. They’re a magical artifact that changes the wearer’s qi into poison qi.”
“A magical artifact that changes the attribute of qi. That’s a rare item. How much is it?”
“Sixty heavenly jades. It’s cheap. You won’t find anything like this at this price anywhere else!”
I quietly calculated.
‘The price of a decent elixir is 15 heavenly jades… 60 is the price of 4 elixirs. It’s really cheap.’
Wouldn’t it be a loss if I didn’t buy this? What if someone else bought it first while I was hesitating?
‘No. Wait a minute.’
The Poison Birth artifact was too cheap. But why hadn’t anyone bought it? Judging by the crowd of people around, there must have been dozens of customers who came before me.
‘Don’t be fooled by the price.’
After thinking it over, I soon frowned.
“This isn’t a proper magical artifact. Does the poison qi affect the user?”
The merchant gave an awkward smile.
“There are some minor side effects… but you can use an antidote. It will be a great help when training in poison arts.”
“Bullshit. If it changes qi into poison qi, that means you’ll be poisoned from your dantian. It’s hard to endure that even if you’ve mastered poison arts. You’re selling some real garbage.”
“B-but it could be a trump card. It’s not like you’ll definitely die if you use Poison Birth!”
That was true. It seemed quite useful as a trump card. When in danger, you had to do anything. Moreover, I had complete recovery. But these gloves weren’t so great that they were worth risking death for.
“I don’t need it.”
I looked at other magical artifacts.
I didn’t see any artifacts at the level of the Meteor Sword Heaven, which was the original artifact of my skill, Meteor Sword.
‘I had too high of expectations.’
Disappointment washed over me. My expectations were too high.
‘I can’t find a great artifact like the Meteor Sword Heaven in a place like this.’
All the artifacts that looked useful had one problem or another, like a screw was loose. The ones that were fine weren’t very effective.
Then what about the martial arts they were selling?
“The martial arts of the Blood Wolf who killed the elder of the Wudang Sect! The martial arts of that Blood Wolf! We’ll serve you for only 300 heavenly jades!”
Blood Wolf.
I didn’t know who he was. If he was an elder of the Wudang Sect, he was likely an absolute master who had reached the Three Peaks Realm. Martial artists gathered in front of his stall.
“Is it really true that he killed an elder of the Wudang Sect?”
“Of course, it’s true! It happened 200 years ago. There was a ronin named Blood Wolf who was traveling the Jianghu when he fought with a member of the evil faction…”
The merchant began to ramble on. In short, it was a story of how grudges piled up, and the Wudang Sect elder and the Blood Wolf fought and perished together. It wasn’t a complete victory, but a mutual destruction. That made it sound more credible.
“Is it really the Blood Wolf’s martial arts?”
“I swear on the name of the Floating Cloud Merchant Guild. It’s the Blood Wolf’s martial art, the Ten-Day Blood Claw.”
“Oh, oh. Is that so!”
The martial artists’ eyes lit up. Martial artists wanted martial arts more than magical artifacts or elixirs. Even if it was a martial art that they couldn’t use right away, it might help their own martial arts in a different way.
I walked through them. As I approached, the martial artists swallowed and moved aside. The aura of a master emanating from me pressured them.
“I’m curious if it’s really the martial art that killed the Wudang Sect elder. Give it to me once. I’ll check it myself.”
“Ah, no! You can’t see the contents until you buy it!”
“The contents aren’t a scam, are they?”
“A scam?! I swear on the name of the Floating Cloud Merchant Guild, absolutely not!”
“I don’t trust the name of the Floating Cloud Merchant Guild. I can’t believe the Blood Wolf’s martial arts until I see it with my own two eyes.”
The merchant rolled his eyes. He looked like he was asking for help. The martial artists around him coughed and pretended not to notice.
“T-then, just the beginning… You have to see just the beginning! If you promise to see only the beginning, I’ll show it to you!”
“I promise.”
“Please declare it with your title and name!”
“I am Flame Gu-seok of the Annihilation Squad of the Heavenly Demon Sect, the Lightning Flash. Is that enough?”
“You must only look at the beginning!”
The merchant handed over the martial arts book. I read the beginning of the martial arts book.
“……”
I recited the beginning of the Ten-Day Blood Claw’s incantation in my mind.
『It has been confirmed that a sorcery is hidden in the Ten-Day Blood Claw.』
『It is not recommended to learn the Ten-Day Blood Claw.』
The Heavenly Strength System suddenly appeared. I frowned.
‘A sorcery is hidden?’
I couldn’t feel anything from this book. But I couldn’t doubt the Heavenly Strength System. How many benefits had I gained through the Heavenly Strength System?
‘Is the incantation itself a sorcery?’
I closed the book.
“H-how is it? It’s an amazing martial art, right?”
The merchant, who was relieved that I only read the beginning, let out a sigh of relief. Did the merchant know that there was a sorcery hidden in the Ten-Day Blood Claw? If he did, what kind of sorcery was it and why did he put it there?
I pondered for a moment and then raised my killing intent.
“You bastard… You put a sorcery in this book!”
I threw the martial arts book at the merchant. Blood trickled down the merchant’s forehead. He didn’t wipe the blood and shouted.
“A sorcery! What are you talking about?! This is the Blood Wolf’s martial art, the Ten-Day Blood Claw! It’s not a sorcery!”
“Are you an idiot? I said that this book is not a sorcery, but that a sorcery is hidden in it.”
“No! There’s no sorcery!”
“Then recite the incantation yourself.”
“This is a product for sale! How can I read it!”
“Bullshit. It’s the martial art that killed the Wudang Sect elder, but you’ve never read it? I can tell just by looking at your hands that you’ve trained in martial arts. It looks like you’ve trained with a spear.”
“I’m a martial artist and a merchant! I don’t do anything that damages the value of the product! I’ve never read the Ten-Day Blood Claw!”
“You wouldn’t have read it because you cleverly put a sorcery in the Ten-Day Blood Claw. If it’s not a sorcery, then prove it by reciting the incantation here. Then I’ll acknowledge it.”
“Kuh…”
The merchant hesitated. The surrounding martial artists narrowed their eyes at his attitude.
“A master of the Five Qi wouldn’t say such a thing for no reason… Is it really a martial art with a sorcery?”
“Looking at that guy’s attitude, it seems like it.”
“Hey, merchant. Recite the incantation of the Ten-Day Blood Claw and prove it right now. If you can’t prove it, you’ll have to give up your life for deceiving us.”
The atmosphere around them became more and more fierce. The merchant, overwhelmed by the aura of the martial artists, forced a smile.
“If you say so… I have no choice. I’ll show you that it’s safe by reciting the incantation myself. First…”
The merchant pretended to make space and tidy up the surroundings, then took out a smoke bomb from a drawer and threw it on the floor.
Bang!
A huge cloud of smoke covered the surroundings. The merchant stepped on a footwork and ran away. His presence disappeared, and there was no sound.
‘A footwork specialized in stealth. Is it an assassin’s footwork?’
[Activating the Heavenly Eye.]
I activated the Heavenly Eye and pierced through the smoke. I chased after the fleeing merchant.
‘Good. Since he deceived me, I have the justification. I’ll kill him and take his money. If he’s a merchant affiliated with the Floating Cloud Merchant Guild, I should get at least dozens of heavenly jades, right? Heh heh.’
He was going to a secluded mountain path. He was an idiot. If he had gone to the street, he could have gotten help from the Floating Cloud Merchant Guild.
‘No. Is it more likely that he’ll be abandoned by the Floating Cloud Merchant Guild? He’s just a contract merchant anyway.’
I went deeper into the mountain path. A place where people had completely disappeared.
‘Should I kill him now?’
The moment I grabbed the hilt of my sword, the guy who was running away stopped.
“W-what is this?!”
The merchant was flustered. It was no wonder, since there were corpses scattered around him. Corpses that were bleeding hot blood, corpses that seemed to have just died.
“Who the hell…”
A line was engraved on his neck. A diagonal sword qi that went from bottom to top. The merchant, who was on guard, couldn’t do anything and was beheaded. Beyond the fallen merchant, I could see a figure wearing a bamboo hat. It was someone I knew.
“…Baekran.”
“Hmm. I didn’t expect to meet you again so soon.”
“Why did you do this? Was it for money?”
“Money? I see. You chased this guy for money… If you need money, take these guys’ stuff. I don’t need any of it.”
“You didn’t do it for money? Then did you kill them for fun?”
Baekran raised his head and looked at me. The eyes that could be seen under the bamboo hat were so clear that they couldn’t be thought of as a murderer’s.
“How much do you know about this world? Do you know how weak the humans of this world are?”
“What?”
“Humans, monsters, spirits, beastmen, immortals, demons. This world is much wider, much more complex, and much more dangerous than you think. Immortals are not necessarily good, and demons are not necessarily evil. This world is chaos.”
I frowned.
“What are you talking about all of a sudden?”
“…Hmm. Didn’t you notice anything strange? The merchants who wander around selling elixirs, magical artifacts, and martial arts. But their names are so secretive that you and I are hearing them for the first time.”
My expression became serious.
“Is it a trap…?”
“Yes. We’ve fallen into a trap. Stay alert. There must be an alien being behind the Floating Cloud Merchant Guild. Perhaps your world will expand today.”
“What, is there even a Netherworld Being?”
Baekran’s eyes widened, then he smiled faintly and nodded.
“You already knew.”
No, I just threw out the word because he said demons. In this world, demons are also called Netherworld Beings. For reference, Netherworld Beings are beings that belong to the Netherworld, those who have sold their souls to the Netherworld and escaped reincarnation.
