1026——————==

True Martial Home

You came to find Yeodong-bin?

‘Come to think of it, Mangnyang mentioned something at the Heavenly Altar… He even asked me for a favor.’

Back then, I thought I’d check on Yeodong-bin when I had the time, but it turns out this is more important than I expected? I wasn’t quite following, so I questioned Cho Mu-rin.

“Even if you’re searching for Yeodong-bin’s whereabouts, isn’t it true that your connection to the Nine Chambers of Thunder Technique happened quite a while ago? The math just doesn’t add up.”

“To be precise, that’s simply a pretext. Lord Hyunheogung Mangnyang has always prepared to send me to the mortal realm, and he has assigned me tasks according to the situation. Right now, my top priority is to find the missing Yeodong-bin.”

“Hmm, I see.”

It seemed the order of operations was reversed. As long as I had a reason to summon Cho Mu-rin into reality, Mangnyang would give commands based on the situation. I grasped the scenario and said,

“Is finding the whereabouts of the missing Yeodong-bin that important? Mangnyang did emphasize to me too that I should find him.”

“I don’t know the details myself. However, Lord Hyunheogung believes that finding Yeodong-bin will provide clues to defeat the apocalypse.”

“……!!”

“And there’s one more thing Lord Hyunheogung told me to pass on.”

Swish.

Cho Mu-rin pulled a red pearl from his clothing and handed it to me. I realized what this pearl was.

“Treasure?”

“It’s the Tongtian Divine Fire Pearl, the relic of the Twelve Great Immortals that belonged to Wunzhong.”

“……!!”

“I can use it however I want.”

The treasure of the Twelve Greats! Furthermore, I personally knew its power since I had once faced the Tongtian Divine Fire Pearl when I broke into the Celestial Realm. Back then it was a huge orb, but now it seemed small enough to fit in the palm of my hand.

‘It got pierced by the Fire Dragon Incarnate’s fiery breath, but it’s definitely one of the upper treasures of the Celestial Realm.’

I stared at the Tongtian Divine Fire Pearl and asked, “Why are you giving this to me…?”

“That’s not all. Lord Hyunheogung said that once a month, the treasures of the Celestial Realm will be bestowed upon the mortal realm through the Heavenly Altar. The summoning ritual will be handled by his disciple Cheon Woo-jin.”

“W-What did you say?”

“And he also asked for you to find the owner of the treasures as soon as possible.”

What on earth is Mangnyang thinking?

‘If that’s true, then he intends to send down not just the Tongtian Divine Fire Pearl but the treasures of the most renowned Great Immortals of the Celestial Realm as well…’

Is that even allowed?

I couldn’t grasp Mangnyang’s intentions, so I stayed dazed for a moment, while Cho Mu-rin quietly scrutinized the handle of his broken whip, then extended it towards me.

Swish.

“I’ll be staying in the mortal realm for a while.”

“…I understand, but why are you handing the whip to me?”

“You should know how to fix the treasures with your abilities. Please fix my specialized treasure, the Thunder Star Whip.”

“…….”

“If I don’t have my treasure, it’ll hinder my mission.”

I silently appraised Cho Mu-rin’s face.

And then I realized.

‘He doesn’t seem shaken by the fact that he just lost to me…’

The emptiness that lingered on his face remained unchanged. In fact, being defeated by a human might be pretty shocking, yet there was no emotion to be found in Cho Mu-rin.

How could someone who had reigned supreme for decades in the martial world be like this?

He seemed incredibly focused on handling his own business.

It’s not that he wanted to work hard.

Everything seems so meaningless to him, as if he just wants to drift through life without much care. Having seen many people, I understood the distinction.

Seeing Cho Mu-rin’s waning energy left me perplexed and I asked,

“Cho Mu-rin, a disciple of the Thunder God Lineage! Why do you seem so unmotivated? It feels like the martial spirit of a martial artist has completely vanished.”

“Isn’t it none of your business? You’re meddling too much.”

“Well, that’s true, but… you were once the legendary Thunder God with the name Eight Wild Thunder. You’re a lot different from what I expected.”

“There’s no worse feeling than being evaluated arbitrarily by others.”

Cho Mu-rin curtly replied as he put away his broken Thunder Star Whip, tying it around his waist. Then he added,

“Say no if you don’t want to. I’m not going to beg a greenhorn.”

“…….”

Looks like Cho Mu-rin has quite a rebellious streak. He might be hiding it under his nihilism, but originally, he must be someone with an inflated sense of self-worth.

‘Hmm… He seems to have at least some minimal pride, but is somehow being crushed under it.’

I said to Cho Mu-rin,

“Alright. If it’s that significant, I’ll help search for Yeodong-bin as well. I’ll do my best to help with fixing your treasure.”

“Is that so?”

“However, in return, while you’re here in the mortal realm, you have to thoroughly teach us about your martial arts. Also, details about the Nine Chambers of Thunder Technique too.”

“Of course. That was Lord Hyunheogung’s intention from the very beginning.”

Cho Mu-rin nodded. I continued,

“Hmm… and tell me about the first disciple of the Four Great Families, Howol. I heard about it from Seong Jin regarding the issues during the Dharmic Era, but I haven’t really heard what happened from Howol or yourself.”

“You mean my master.”

“Yes. I didn’t say it earlier, but that last technique you used to change places with me… it didn’t seem like the Eight Wilds Shock of Heaven. Wasn’t it Howol’s martial art?”

“…….”

“I saw the Dragon Shape Qi wrapping around your body.”

That peculiar technique from earlier when Cho Mu-rin dodged the Fire Spirit Sword was definitely not his martial art. It could be undoubtedly attributed to a Peerless Master’s intuition. Cho Mu-rin remained silent for a moment before saying,

“First, help me with my work. Then, depending on how things go, I’ll tell you.”

“…….”

Wow… this man… he’s incredible.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“No, I’m just wondering why you’re so confident… You’re here on a mission, and whether I cooperate or not is up to me, isn’t it okay for you to say it like that?”

Cho Mu-rin replied with a dead fish-like gaze.

“If you don’t want to, just say so. I don’t particularly care about completing this mission. Instead, Lord Hyunheogung will send someone else.”

“Hmm….”

“It’s a bit annoying to be disciplined by the Heavenly Mysterious Woman, but… what can I do?”

I’ve never encountered someone like Cho Mu-rin before.

He wasn’t putting on airs or being irritating. He genuinely seemed to feel that everything was a bother, and whether he’d work or not didn’t matter to him. If I turned Cho Mu-rin away, he’d probably head back immediately.

Getting mad at someone like him would be pointless, so I let out a sigh and reluctantly nodded.

“…Alright. Then let’s move together.”

No matter how disinterested he seemed, the Overlay Technique was still very useful. Cho Mu-rin’s strength would undoubtedly be a substantial aid, so I decided to bring him along.

I turned to Lee Seol-pyo, who had been watching from the side.

“I’ll be out and about for a while. While I’m gone, do your best to teach Zhu Xian.”

“Understood! May there be glory in the future for you, Grand Master….”

Then I asked Zhu Xian next to him,

“Zhu Xian. Can you meet Sagong Lin right now?”

“He must be incredibly busy, but if I contact him now….”

“No. Then, I’ll have to go to Cheon Woo-jin.”

Wham!

I headed to Cheon Woo-jin and explained the situation. He glanced over Cho Mu-rin a few times and said,

“Getting treasures fixed in the mortal realm is generally impossible, but since we’ve developed skills while creating artificial treasures, it might just be doable.”

“Can you fix the Thunder Star Whip?”

“If you hand it to me, I’ll send it to the Research Department for repairs. And you’re looking for Yeodong-bin?”

“Yes. Mangnyang seems to think that’s extremely important.”

“…….”

Cheon Woo-jin sunk into deep thought. Then he muttered,

“…Faster than expected. Even with this speed in executing the Celestial Realm’s proximity plan, the older brother is feeling insecure. It can’t be helped.”

“Huh?”

Cheon Woo-jin opened his mouth.

“I’ll tell you the reason your older brother sent down the Tongtian Divine Fire Pearl. Using the National Seal will greatly consume energy, and since the National Seal has numerous uses, he’s suggesting to use the Tongtian Divine Fire Pearl’s energy instead. It’s like a backup battery.”

“Is that really alright?”

“It doesn’t matter all that much. Even with 100 Tongtian Divine Fire Pearls, it wouldn’t delay the apocalypse by even a tiny bit. But if we use the National Seal to find Yeodong-bin, the chances of success will increase. However, extracting energy from the treasure to use it might be a bit tough, so I’ll extract the energy for you.”

Saying that, Cheon Woo-jin reached for the Tongtian Divine Fire Pearl and started chanting a long spell to extract a white ball of power.

Whooooom!

Cheon Woo-jin held the ball of power above his palm, then stuffed it into a small jade plate before handing it to me.

“If you carry this jade plate, when you expend the strength of the National Seal, the energy from the Tongtian Divine Fire Pearl will likely be consumed first. This way, you can use the National Seal longer.”

“Wow.”

I was impressed and immediately took out the National Seal to search.

“National Seal, please find the missing Yeodong-bin!”

Mangnyang must’ve hoped I’d do this!

Whoooom….

The National Seal searched for quite a while before stating.

[There is 1 found result for Yeodong-bin.]

I was surprised upon finding this. It meant he wasn’t in another dimension but still in this prime dimension.

“Did you find him? Where is he?”

[He is at Mount Ye.]

“…That’s where Yeodong-bin last slaughtered the Great Dragon. Where exactly on Mount Ye?”

[At the mountain’s peak.]

“Great, let’s go there!”

Wham!

I got the coordinates from the National Seal and used the Golden Lamp to rush directly to Mount Ye. Upon arriving at the peak of Mount Ye, there stood Yeodong-bin gazing at the sunrise from the edge of a cliff.

Whoooo…

The cold morning breeze blew in.

I silently watched Yeodong-bin’s back and initiated a conversation.

“Yeodong-bin. So you escaped from the Celestial Realm and ended up here?”

Yeodong-bin didn’t respond. Instead, he continued watching the sunrise, waiting for the morning to arrive. A peculiar silence lingered until the sun rose fully above the horizon, at which point he turned his gaze towards me.

[Why did you come here?]

I pointed at Cho Mu-rin standing beside me.

“To be precise, this matter concerns Cho Mu-rin. He’s here on orders from Lord Hyunheogung Mangnyang to bring you back to the Celestial Realm after your escape.”

[…….]

“I’m just curious, though. Why have you come out from the Celestial Realm and come to Mount Ye?”

[Do you know what this cliff you’re standing on is?]

I glanced down at my feet. With knowledge gathered from my past life, I nodded slowly.

“…This is the cliff where the Dragon of the Apocalypse was petrified, isn’t it? I know that much.”

I learned this during my past life while searching for the Fire Dragon Sword with Yeodong-bin. This cliff genuinely sealed the body of the Great Dragon that Yeodong-bin had defeated in ancient times, and in the end, the Fire Dragon Incarnate sacrificed himself to seal it within Mount Ye.

Yeodong-bin continued.

[Do you know that the dragon’s essence still lives within this form? He is still right beneath our feet.]

“……? That’s absurd. How can this be alive?”

[It’s true.]

“That can’t be….”

Palace Examination Technique!

I doubted as I activated the National Seal’s Palace Examination Technique to scrutinize the cliff below me.

Rumble!

In that instant, I was able to see a massive black dragon writhing deep within the enormous cliff through the Palace Examination Technique. The Palace Examination was capable of piercing through any essence, so there couldn’t be any lies. Though it had become petrified by the seal, there was definitely the Dragon of the Apocalypse, one of the Eight Parts of the Divine, down there!

And strangely, a gigantic snake seemed to be coiling around the black dragon, almost swimming alongside it.

“……!!”

I couldn’t believe I missed this until now?!

‘The Eight Parts of the Divine dragon is still alive…’

But it seemed the current seal was flawless, as it was only visible through the Palace Examination. Its essence was firmly petrified. Even if it wasn’t dead, being sealed made it almost as good as dead. Breaking this cliff physically wouldn’t kill the dragon, and since the soul is bound to this place, the seal would persist in some form.

I calmed my astonished heart and spoke to Yeodong-bin.

“…But you did defeat the dragon back in ancient times, didn’t you?”

[What died was the half-essence that leaked outside the seal. The other half still lives.]

“Even so, the dragon seems fully sealed. If you came all the way here to re-seal it, that sounds like digging yourself into a hole.”

[I know. At this point, trying to stop this calamity wouldn’t change the fate of the world anyway….]

Yeodong-bin murmured with a melancholic voice. Then he added,

[I need my own time. The Lord Hyunheogung of the Celestial Realm seeks to uncover the secrets of the Divine Being with underhanded means, so I have no intention of belonging to the Celestial Realm any longer. You three can go back now.]

“…….”

I grasped the situation.

‘Mangnyang, who ascended to the Celestial Realm, sought to uncover the secrets of the Divine Being that Yeodong-bin knew!’

But realizing that, Yeodong-bin had escaped to the mortal realm to evade Mangnyang’s pressure. I said to Yeodong-bin,

“Yeodong-bin. There’s something I truly want to ask.”

[What is it?]

“…Does the Divine Being refuse to save humans from the apocalypse?”

Yeodong-bin fell silent for a moment before answering.

[At least, if they are considering seeking salvation, they would not be able to meet him.]