## Chapter 196 – 196. The Path Of Ascending Light
196. The Path of Ascending Light
“Seong Ji-gon, pass! Next, Seong Yu-jin! Come up unarmed!”
The voice of the Third Elder, Seok Juk, who was overseeing the martial arts contest, echoed loudly.
I went up to the martial arts stage. I met eyes with Seong Ji-gon, who was coming down. Seong Ji-gon seemed confident that I would pass.
Countless gazes were fixed on me.
Today’s initiation ceremony was a once-in-a-few-years event, so most of the people from the Yuseong Sword Clan, including the Clan Leader Seong Go-dan, were in attendance.
Seong Go-dan sat in the highest seat. To his left sat the elders, and to his right sat his seventeen concubines. It was like a gathering of flowers.
‘Wow. They’re all stunning beauties.’
Seong Go-dan’s wives were not of low status. They were daughters of famous clans in neighboring cities, or daughters of high-ranking officials, and so on.
Unlike his wives, his concubines were of somewhat lower status. Some of the concubines were even former servants.
I looked around and gave a polite bow to the people. Everyone around me was of higher rank. If I didn’t greet them, I might get on their bad side.
“Yuseong Clan’s Seong So-jeong! Come up to the martial arts stage!”
Seong So-jeong, known as the most beautiful woman in Yuseong, walked gracefully onto the martial arts stage. She was wearing the white martial arts uniform that was the symbol of the Yuseong Clan.
‘Wow. A flower is walking.’
She was a woman with fair skin and innocent features. Her long, ebony hair was tied back, revealing her forehead.
She was tall and, as a martial artist, had a slim, toned figure. Her chest was a bit small, around a B cup, which was a shame.
‘I wonder if her insides are as clean as her skin.’
Seong So-jeong bowed to the people around her, just like I did, and then bowed to me.
*Clack!*
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Sister.”
“The pleasure is all mine.”
Seong So-jeong smiled at me as she spoke.
I had known for days that she would be my opponent.
‘Right now, I’m known as the most talented prodigy among my peers. And Seong So-jeong is not only beautiful but also one of the top young geniuses in the clan!’
The higher-ups, who had judged me to have outstanding talent, had called Seong So-jeong to be my opponent.
It didn’t matter if I lost. The important thing wasn’t winning or losing, but showing my skills.
Seong So-jeong and I drew our swords and took our stances.
They were different stances. I was in the basic stance of the Silver Star Sword, and she was in the stance of the Yuseong Sword Technique.
This match was overwhelmingly advantageous for Seong So-jeong. She knew about the Silver Star Sword, and I knew nothing about the Yuseong Sword Technique.
Above all, Seong So-jeong had recently reached the first stage of the Will Manifestation realm.
As a genius, she had been actively supported by the clan, allowing her to reach the Will Manifestation realm at the young age of 23.
“This martial arts contest is for show. Keep that in mind.”
Third Elder Seok Juk said to us. In short, he was telling us not to make any dangerous attacks.
“Yes.”
“Yes.”
Seok Juk, having heard our replies, nodded and raised the flag in his hand above his head.
‘I’m sorry, but… I have to win here.’
After roughly investigating and deeply considering the original work, ‘The Path of Ascending Light,’ in the real world, I decided to reveal some of my skills.
‘I need to show some skill to get support from the clan.’
Above all, pretending to be weak didn’t suit my personality.
“Begin the match!”
Seok Juk declared as he lowered the flag.
Seong So-jeong charged at me first. Usually, martial artists my age would be stiff, as it was their first time competing in front of so many people. This could be seen as Seong So-jeong’s consideration.
‘Or maybe she just wants to quickly defeat me and get down.’
*Crackle.*
Blue lightning sparked from the sword I was holding.
I deflected Seong So-jeong’s sword with mine. The lightning traveled along Seong So-jeong’s sword and into her body. Seong So-jeong looked surprised and quickly retreated from me.
‘She didn’t get electrocuted. Well, I did make it weak on purpose.’
I pretended to be serious and looked around.
Everyone watching me was surprised. In particular, the Clan Leader Seong Go-dan and the elders had jumped up from their seats, their eyes wide open.
Fire, Water, Wood, Metal, Earth.
Lightning was a spiritual energy that did not belong to the basic five elements. It was an energy that could not be used unless one used a special martial art, a spiritual elixir, or was born with it.
‘Seong Go-dan and the elders must think I was born with the Lightning Spirit. Heh heh.’
In this world, there were very rare individuals who were born with a specific energy, and they were said to have a spirit.
If they were born with the energy of fire, they were a Fire Spirit, and if they were born with the energy of ice, they were an Ice Spirit.
“Sister. Aren’t you coming?”
“……How do you use lightning energy?”
“It just happened as I was doing it.”
I would speak vaguely about the lightning energy. To make them think I was a genius.
“If you’re not coming, I’ll go to you.”
I wrapped my sword in lightning and charged at her.
‘I shouldn’t unleash the lightning too strongly. Otherwise, they won’t think I’m a genius, but they’ll be suspicious.’
Seong So-jeong focused more on dodging than deflecting my sword. This was because the lightning flowed along the sword. Even so, she couldn’t dodge forever. She gradually began to deflect my sword.
It was clear that Seong So-jeong was wary of my sword.
I approached Seong So-jeong, using the footwork of the Silver Star Sword. When she was surprised and swung her sword, I threw a punch.
*Thwack!*
“Ugh?!”
The punch accurately struck Seong So-jeong’s abdomen. Seong So-jeong gritted her teeth and deflected the sword she was swinging at me.
*Clang!*
Seong So-jeong’s arm twitched. The lightning had slightly passed through, showing an electrocution effect. Seong So-jeong’s concentration had been disrupted by the previous attack.
‘There’s no reason to stick to the Silver Star Sword when my opponent knows it so well.’
Although Seong So-jeong was called a genius, she was still only 23 years old. Unlike the hunters in the real world, she had been treated like a precious jewel in the clan, taking spiritual elixirs and training non-stop, so she was bound to lack practical experience.
“Sister, it’s on your right.”
I said quietly to Seong So-jeong. Seong So-jeong’s gaze turned to the right.
‘Heh heh. You innocent fool.’
I kicked her left side with my right foot. Seong So-jeong couldn’t dodge and was hit.
“It’s on my right, from my perspective.”
“You! Where did you learn such a method?! It’s like….”
“Like a heretic? It doesn’t matter what you say to me, Sister. I’m going to win against you by any means necessary.”
“……!”
Seong So-jeong gritted her teeth and stood up. Then, she swung her sword at me. Her anger was clearly contained in her sword. The speed of her sword had increased, but the finesse of her swordsmanship had disappeared.
‘She’s only ever fought fairly.’
I didn’t fight fairly. I pretended to attack and then ran away, or I uttered falsehoods to confuse her.
After ten minutes of this, Seong So-jeong dropped her sword.
“…Seong Yu-jin, pass!”
Seok Juk, who had been the judge, declared. He had turned a blind eye to my cowardly fighting, even though he knew it. Judging by the way he was glaring at me, he seemed to want Seong So-jeong to grow more from this opportunity.
I lowered my sword and bowed to the people around me.
People were looking at me in shock and murmuring. Before going down from the martial arts stage, I looked at Seong So-jeong, who was staring blankly at me.
‘I’ve properly made my mark on people with this.’
•••
“When did you learn to control lightning energy?”
A middle-aged man with a beard, Seong Go-dan, asked me. Around him, five elders were watching me.
“It hasn’t been long.”
“Why didn’t you tell the clan?”
“I wanted to use it as a hidden card to win against Sister Seong So-jeong.”
“…….”
I wasn’t even of legal age yet. They would understand me to some extent.
“How far can you control the lightning energy?”
“What I showed in the martial arts contest earlier is my full power.”
“Show me once.”
“Yes.”
I raised my right hand. Lightning crackled on my right hand. Seong Go-dan and the elders carefully watched the lightning energy.
“……You haven’t learned any special cultivation technique. I didn’t feel any internal energy moving at all. That lightning isn’t used with a cultivation technique or a magical artifact.”
First Elder Seong Dam said.
“That means….”
“Clan Leader. Seong Yu-jin was born with it. He is definitely a Lightning Spirit.”
“……I see. What do you think we should do?”
“We must actively support him. Since he has a Lightning Spirit, he will exert greater power than others from the Will Manifestation realm.”
“…….”
Seong Go-dan looked at me with complicated eyes.
I could easily guess why he was like that.
‘He must be jealous of me.’
Seong Go-dan was a petty man at heart compared to the power he possessed. He was greedy and jealous. If I wasn’t his son, he might even try to kill me.
The Yuseong Sword Clan claimed to be a righteous sect, but the Clan Leader, Seong Go-dan, was nothing more than a hypocritical gentleman.
“……It seems we need a meeting. Seong Yu-jin. You may go back.”
“Yes!”
I bowed to them and went outside.
As soon as I left, Seong Go-dan and the elders began their meeting.
It was certain that I would receive support. There was no way they would abandon a talent like me. Their meeting would be about how much to support me.
‘Heh heh. Give me good spiritual elixirs and weapons.’
•••
A few days after the initiation ceremony.
The enhancement of the Fire Lotus Dagger was finally complete.
I looked at the Fire Lotus Dagger that I had taken out of the Path of Ascending Light.
There was nothing particularly different about its appearance. The red blade and black hilt were still the same.
I swung the Fire Lotus Dagger to check its performance. The blade was sharper, and the durability was stronger. It had also gained a special ability.
*Crackling!*
When I created lightning on the Fire Lotus Dagger, it was not blue but red lightning. The Red Lightning was much more destructive than the lightning I had created before.
“Wow. It’s overflowing with style!”
After swinging the Fire Lotus Dagger a few times, I put a spiritual elixir into the Path of Ascending Light.
The spiritual elixir that the Yuseong Sword Clan had given me was the Lightning Clarity Pill. The Lightning Clarity Pill was a low-grade spiritual elixir, but it was a rare elixir that was hard to obtain because it contained lightning energy.
“All they gave me was this elixir, though.”
It wasn’t the same level of support as Seong So-jeong. However, if I did better in the future, the Yuseong Sword Clan would support me more.
I wasn’t disappointed. One of my plans was to steal the herbs and spiritual elixirs from the Yuseong Sword Clan.
“I’ll steal them all.”
•••
The Secret Herb Garden.
It was where the Yuseong Sword Clan grew herbs and refined spiritual elixirs.
The Secret Herb Garden was located deep within the Yuseong Sword Clan. It was the most heavily guarded place in the Yuseong Sword Clan, and to enter, one needed the permission of the Secret Herb Garden Master, Seong Do-chun, or the Clan Leader, Seong Go-dan.
Seong Do-chun was the second-in-command of the Yuseong Sword Clan. He was at the first stage of the Five Energies realm, making him the second strongest after Seong Go-dan. He was also Seong Go-dan’s nephew.
I monitored the Secret Herb Garden with modern equipment. I used a small drone with a camera to film inside the Secret Herb Garden.
‘It’s impossible to sneak into the Secret Herb Garden.’
There was a formation set up, so if a person or animal entered the Secret Herb Garden, they would be immediately caught. Since the drone wasn’t detected, it seemed that the formation didn’t work on inanimate objects.
And the eight people in the Secret Herb Garden were all top experts in the Yuseong Sword Clan. If I fought them head-on, I would die.
‘It’s hard to sneak in disguised, too.’
Since the Secret Herb Garden was also a place where people lived, servants regularly brought daily necessities to the Secret Herb Garden. Of course, the martial artists of the Secret Herb Garden watched the servants’ actions with keen eyes.
‘Seong Do-chun. That guy doesn’t come out at all.’
The Secret Herb Garden Master, Seong Do-chun, hadn’t even attended the initiation ceremony. He was holed up in the Secret Herb Garden and didn’t move.
‘I can’t steal it with ordinary methods.’
I started racking my brain and went about my daily life.
My daily life was nothing special.
I teased the servants with Seong Ji-gon and occasionally went down to the city to sleep with women.
I learned the Yuseong Sword Technique and occasionally met Seong So-jeong for sparring.
Seong So-jeong was so shocked by her loss to me that she came to me directly and asked for sparring. I got closer to her while talking smack.
The Lightning Clarity Pill that I received from the clan was enhanced and consumed in two weeks.
‘One step. Just one step is all I need….’
Unfortunately, I couldn’t reach the sixth stage of the Foundation realm.
‘If I raid the Secret Herb Garden this time and eat the spiritual elixirs, I can definitely reach the sixth stage of the Foundation realm.’
『Special Mission Time Limit: 21 days, 2 hours, 35 minutes, 11 seconds』
I felt impatient as I checked the remaining time limit. If I failed this mission, I wouldn’t receive three Body Strengthening Pills.
‘……There’s no other way. That’s the only option.’
No matter how much I thought about it, there was only one way for me to safely steal the herbs and spiritual elixirs from the Secret Herb Garden.
‘I have no choice but to poison the well.’
