Chapter 989 – 989. The Ascent To Radiance Diagram
Ten days passed, and the trial of the 9th floor ended.
Nothing happened during that time. We had allied with the other four groups and stuck together, so from the other groups’ perspective, there was no reason to target us.
Soldiers approached and led us to the 10th floor. This time, we were given a month of leeway. Both Sung Ji-gon and I chose elixirs.
“Monk. Why are you following us around?”
“This humble monk is wandering the Jianghu in search of new and excellent food. And you, young hero, are a lump of novelty. You may use this monk like a slave. Please, show this monk new flavors!”
“Do you think you’re worth that much? You’re just a smelly monk.”
“Of course, compared to the food you possess, young hero, this monk is indeed lacking. But this monk cannot give up. I will offer you the 150-year-old wild ginseng I obtained on this floor. I hope it will be of some help to you.”
“Well, you’re not entirely useless.”
I accepted the 150-year-old wild ginseng. However, this level of elixir is not of much help to me now. It needs to contain at least 500 years of spiritual energy to be of use to me.
‘It would be better to enhance it with the Ascent to Radiance Diagram and feed it to Sung Ji-gon. The monk’s cultivation is at the 3rd stage of Aura… two stages below me, but he has mastered Shaolin martial arts. He’s perfect as a training partner for Sung Ji-gon and me.’
It’s not easy to hire a master even with money. I can use such a master with just a few dishes. It’s like a stroke of luck. I can’t pass up this opportunity.
“Monk, what is your purpose in challenging the Myriad Martial Tower?”
He seemed to have great pride in Shaolin martial arts, and he didn’t seem obsessed with elixirs. The same goes for magical artifacts. He’s a renegade monk, but he doesn’t seem to have any desire for other things, as if a monk is a monk. Is there even food unique to the Myriad Martial Tower? There’s no way. The meals the soldiers give are literally slop. They have no flavor at all. During the trials, they don’t even give that slop.
“This humble monk is a body wandering in search of delicacies… The Myriad Martial Tower is merely another journey for delicacies.”
“This guy, his tongue is weird too. Is the slop that delicious?”
“Yujin, this monk seems a bit strange.”
“…You’re one to talk. Sigh. Why am I the only normal one here?”
Sung Ji-gon and Jungbin’s gazes at me were a bit unsettling, but I ignored them for now.
“There is a delicacy that can only be tasted in the Myriad Martial Tower. It is the Azure Clear Oil. This humble monk entered the Myriad Martial Tower to taste the Azure Clear Oil.”
“…Indeed.”
Azure Clear Oil. It’s a top-tier elixir among elixirs. Its effects are great, but above all, it’s said to have an outstanding taste.
“At that rate, you’ll have to climb to at least the 17th floor?”
“That is so. Perhaps it can only be obtained by conquering the entire Myriad Martial Tower. This humble monk will never give up until I taste the Azure Clear Oil.”
“He’s a guy with a clear goal in life.”
I put aside my worries about Jungbin. It’s a world where betrayal is common, but I can control this guy. He’s a guy who begs for chicken, so I just need to give him food on time.
I roughly set up a spot in a corner of the 10th floor and started training. Looking around, there were few people. The participants, who numbered over 100,000, were now less than 10,000. After the 10th floor trial ends, it will decrease even more.
“Great Hero Sung.”
Hwangbo Ga-hye came to find me. I swallowed hard at her radiant beauty.
“Miss Hwangbo. What brings you here?”
“Am I intruding?”
“No! It was just a bit sudden!”
Hwangbo Ga-hye smiled. When a beauty smiles, it felt like spring had arrived.
“Great Hero Sung. Thank you. I really wanted to say this. If it weren’t for you, we wouldn’t have passed the 9th floor trial so easily.”
She came closer to me. Hwangbo Ga-hye held my hand tightly. It smelled fragrant. My gaze lowered slightly, and I could see her white neck. It was a neck I wanted to lick.
“Haha… I was just doing what I had to do. Without your command, Miss, the trial wouldn’t have been easy.”
“Thank you for saying that. Great Hero Sung, I want to be with you on the 10th floor… no, in this Myriad Martial Tower. If we combine our strengths, conquering the Myriad Martial Tower won’t be difficult.”
“That’s what I desire. Your wisdom and my strength… together, we will surely be formidable. Miss Hwangbo, would you like to train together?”
“…I would like to, but… I have circumstances.”
“Circumstances?”
Just as Hwangbo Ga-hye was about to open her mouth, a dozen people approached from a distance. The slick-looking man at the center was familiar.
The man who entered the Myriad Martial Tower first. His name was definitely Oh Ji-moo, wasn’t it?
“Ga-hye. What are you doing here?”
“…Young Hero Oh. I was expressing my gratitude to Great Hero Sung.”
“Great Hero Sung?”
Oh Ji-moo’s gaze turned to me.
It was an arrogant gaze. It was the kind of gaze that only those who possess talent, skill, and background can have.
He blatantly released his aura. Showing off his aura meant that he was telling me to know my place because his cultivation was like this. He looked to be in his late 20s, but his cultivation was in the mid-stage of the Earthly Realm. It was a cultivation that could be called genius.
But in front of me, it was nothing.
“Arrogant.”
I pulled up my inner force and spread my aura in all directions.
“Cough…”
“Gasp.”
“Ugh.”
Those around me all swallowed their groans. Their complexions were also gradually turning pale. Oh Ji-moo, who was directly receiving my aura, was trembling.
Earthly Realm and Aura Realm.
It’s a difference of one stage. But that one stage is a mountain. I’m looking down from the top of the mountain, and Oh Ji-moo is looking up at the mountain from the ground.
“Ugh, I, I’m sorry… I didn’t recognize you, senior! Please forgive me…!”
Oh Ji-moo lowered his head. I desperately tried to hold back the laughter that was about to form. This is it. I hid my aura for this moment. To thoroughly suppress the arrogant bastard.
‘I can’t resist playing the hidden power role.’
And when I do it, I have to do it properly.
Demonic Divine Art (天魔神功) Demonic Force (天魔 Force).
The demonic energy that crawled out of me spread in all directions. Oh Ji-moo’s complexion became even paler.
Thud.
Oh Ji-moo eventually knelt down.
It’s not enough. I can’t be satisfied with just making him touch his knees to the ground. He has to at least bang his head.
“Your neck is stiff. Did I look that much like a pushover?”
Oh Ji-moo gritted his teeth.
“…I am from the Three Wonders Sect of Shandong Province. I am the young sect leader of the Three Wonders Sect.”
He was saying that if I didn’t want to make the Three Wonders Sect an enemy, I should stop here.
“I am Sung Yujin, the adopted son-in-law of the Namgung Clan.”
“……”
Oh Ji-moo’s eyes widened. It was natural that the reputation of the Namgung Clan was higher than the unheard-of Three Wonders Sect. Since I was ahead in both skill and background, Oh Ji-moo’s only option was to bang his head.
Oh Ji-moo didn’t bang his head. Instead, he raised his head further and looked at Hwangbo Ga-hye.
“Haa.”
Hwangbo Ga-hye’s sigh was deep. Then she stepped in front of me. As the aura dissipated, her complexion improved.
“Great Hero Sung! I will apologize on his behalf! Please forgive him. He just didn’t recognize you, Great Hero Sung, he didn’t have any other intentions.”
“He’s the one who did wrong, why is Miss Hwangbo apologizing instead?”
“…He and I are unofficially engaged.”
“……!”
It felt like a hammer had fallen on my crown. The mental shock was numbing. That kind of guy is Hwangbo Ga-hye’s fiancé?
Hwangbo Ga-hye was saying something, but it didn’t register in my head.
‘They don’t seem to be in love?’
They didn’t make eye contact, and they were keeping their distance from each other. They were too distant to be called lovers. It seemed like there was some reason.
‘I need to investigate.’
I looked at Hwangbo Ga-hye. She was sweating as she defended Oh Ji-moo.
“Miss Hwangbo. That’s enough. For your sake, I will forgive him.”
“…Thank you, Great Hero Sung. I will repay this favor without fail.”
“Haha. A favor? I’m fine.”
“…I’m sorry.”
Oh Ji-moo apologized.
“Behave yourself in the future.”
The situation was over, but the chilled atmosphere remained.
Hwangbo Ga-hye and Oh Ji-moo’s group bowed to me and left. I watched their backs. Hwangbo Ga-hye and Oh Ji-moo were more than 2 meters apart.
‘Hwangbo Ga-hye is mine. Even if I have to kill that bastard, I’ll get her.’
I licked my lips as I looked at Hwangbo Ga-hye’s attractive buttocks.
•••
I went to find Gongbi of the Flower Moon Pavilion to get information about the Hwangbo Clan. Gongbi didn’t welcome me. She looked at me with a wary gaze. But there was nothing I could do. She had Mireung’s golden restraint on her neck.
A powerful restraint that allowed me to kill her whenever I wanted, no matter where she was. With a leash on her neck, she was a pure bitch.
“…Young Master Sung, what do you want?”
“First… let’s taste your pussy after a long time. Spread your legs.”
“Kuh…”
Gongbi, feeling humiliated, bit her lip. She glared at me as if she wanted to kill me, but she took off her clothes and spread her legs. She had to obey my orders because she didn’t want to die. And it wasn’t the first time she had sex with me, so there wasn’t much to be shy about.
After thrusting into Gongbi’s pussy for three hours, I sat on the edge of the bed and fondled her breasts. E-cup. Big breasts.
“I heard you entered the Myriad Martial Tower… Are you after the Shandong Jade (山東寶玉)?”
That was Hwangbo Ga-hye’s nickname.
“Did I tell you I entered the Myriad Martial Tower? Did you investigate me?”
“Don’t underestimate my clan’s intelligence network. Even if we don’t move, information comes in naturally. Especially information about you, I’ve ordered it to come directly to me. Unfortunately, you’re the one holding my leash.”
Clack.
Gongbi slapped away my hand that was fondling her breasts and got up from the bed. She wiped her naked body with a clean cloth she had placed beside her. My gaze was briefly drawn to the vermilion bird tattoo on her back. A sleek back and buttocks. Drip, drip. White semen dripped onto the floor from the pussy hole between her thighs. Seeing that scene made my dick stand up again.
‘After I get the information, I’ll fuck her again.’
I waited for Gongbi to speak, fiddling with my erect dick.
“…The Hwangbo Clan of Shandong Province is currently in decline. The family’s tradition and reputation are still outstanding, but if you look deeper, they’ve fallen to the level of a small to medium-sized sect.”
“Even so, isn’t it a bit much to say they’re at the level of a small to medium-sized sect?”
“Fifty years ago, the head of the Hwangbo Clan made a mistake with the imperial family. As a result, 300 martial artists who used the Hwangbo name were executed.”
“A mistake? What kind of mistake?”
“He touched a woman of the imperial family. The Hwangbo Clan head at the time was quite fond of women. However, it didn’t go as far as rape. It was just flirting.”
“Did he at least touch her butt?”
“No. He held her hand.”
“……That’s all?”
“Yes. If he had raped her, the Hwangbo Clan, as well as the bodies of those involved, would have formed a mountain.”
Just for holding a hand, 300 martial artists of the clan were beheaded. It was a terrifying story.
“The problem is that after that, the Hwangbo Clan lost its qualifications as a lord. Other sects in Shandong Province didn’t miss the opportunity and began to take away the Hwangbo Clan’s businesses one by one. The Hwangbo Clan naturally resisted.”
“So they started to slowly collapse after the imperial family’s sword strike.”
“The decisive event was the incident that happened 20 years ago. They tried to subjugate the Five Demon Sect (五魔門), a sect formed by five demons, and lost 40% of the clan’s main force. From that point on, the Hwangbo Clan became a family with only a great reputation. It’s not like their martial arts were lost or their family’s reputation completely disappeared, so recovery is possible. It will take hundreds of years, though.”
“But they’re still called a clan (世家).”
“Because the Hwangbo Clan has a foundation. It’s just that they’re going through a crisis right now.”
“What’s the story behind Hwangbo Ga-hye’s engagement to Oh Ji-moo, the young sect leader of the Three Wonders Sect?”
“Can’t you guess at this point? Hwangbo Ga-hye was sold off.”
