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“Time to prepare for a challenge in Dark Heaven Village until the Fire Dragon Sword is restored.”

With that thought, I decided to take it easy and train my martial arts and sorcery while learning the ropes about the demon beasts from Zhuge Clan. To be honest, achieving any significant growth in just a month or two seemed impossible, so I focused on laying down a solid foundation and improving my summoning skills instead.

Zhuge Sa said, “In this world, sorcerers and demon sorcerers are clearly distinguished, but summoners? Not really a category you can put in a box. Do you know why?”

“Um… not really.”

“It’s because we can’t systematically train summoners enough to give them their own titles. Summoning talent is incredibly rare, and commanding a crowd of demons is always risky business. At lower levels, it might be manageable, but as you start summoning higher beings, powerful otherworldly races and demonic clans start pouring in, raising the danger level. The act of summoning high-level entities is generally reserved for those ready to risk it all.”

With a self-deprecating smile, he continued, “To make any advancements, we’d have to keep feeding more research subjects into the process, but every time you try summoning, the death rate goes above seventy percent. And that’s even for advanced sorcery!”

“……”

“Simply put, it’s too dangerous and tricky, so it’s not recommended. Even with top-notch preparation, there’s always a death risk. I’ve seen high-level otherworldly races turn unpredictable and a demon sorcerer’s brain just floating off for a space trip!”

“But summoning the Three Sovereigns or conducting an offering ceremony in the Celestial Realm usually goes without a hitch, right? There’s hardly any threat to your life…” I retorted.

Zhuge Sa shot back, “That’s a special privilege.”

“A privilege?”

“It’s not just for you; it’s a natural benefit of being born in the Central Plains. You hardly get a kind response from beings on that level, let alone the Three Sovereigns. They’re practically saintly.”

I frowned, “The Three Sovereigns and the Old Ruler are essentially the same…”

“You’re strange. No human has ever managed to win favor from the Old Ruler like you. Plus, it’s pretty rare for beings from the Celestial Realm to even give a second thought to human existence.”

“Hmm.”

“That’s also why sorcerers generally avoid diving into risky summoning. If you can rely on the aid of Celestial Realm immortals or divine beings, why would you want to make a contract with some sketchy beast from another world? Sorcery’s simply a more convenient system compared to demonic paths.”

After some grumbling, he pointed a finger at me. “Anyway, you’ve got a blessed talent for summoning. You need to summon otherworldly beings consistently to really hone it.”

“Got it.” I nodded.

“Let’s start by learning the protective sigils and incantations from otherworldly beings. You probably won’t be attacked, but we need to lay a foundation first.”

I began to learn the basics of summoning from Zhuge Sa. Previously, my knowledge of demonic lore was about the Old Ruler or general knowledge, but this time it was focused on summoning. I spent a month learning the basics of summoning otherworldly beings.

A month into learning, Zhuge Sa remarked, “You seem to grasp the basics, but to master this safely, you’ll need at least another year. In your next life, make sure to learn summoning from either me or Cheon Woo-jin.”

“… You’re already talking about the next life?”

“Is there a problem?”

“Ugh…”

Though I was steeling myself for death in Dark Heaven Village, the prospect left a bitter taste in my mouth. But since it was reality, I pulled out the Ruyi Staff and summoned the spirit, He Yu.

Suddenly, there she was: a beautiful little girl with blue hair and golden eyes. The moment she saw me, she frowned.

[Eww, ugly…]

“……”

[Why did you summon me?]

Scratching my head awkwardly, I replied, “I want to call forth the Celestial Sage. I’d like to recover the Fire Dragon Sword.”

[Understood. I’ll call for the monkey.]

He Yu radiated some light and began weaving some magic. As I watched, I asked her, “He Yu, what did you do to end up trapped in the Ruyi Staff?”

[……]

Her silence stretched on.

“Hey, can you even hear me?”

At last, she opened her mouth. [I don’t want to answer!]

“What?! Just flat out refusing…”

I was taken aback as she shot me a really annoyed look and said, [I like pretty, handsome people. If you looked like a pretty boy, I’d happily chat!” But seeing your face, it’s like you mixed a rock with fermented soybeans and soaked it in volcanic ash. My words just evaporate.]

“……”

[And you ugly idiot, do you expect me to spill my embarrassing past when we’re barely even friends?]

Her fluency in critiquing my looks left me at a loss for words. Getting flack about my appearance wasn’t new, but this was on another level! I found it absurd that an ancient spirit should be discriminating against looks.

“Hey, but…”

Swish!

Right then, the Celestial Sage appeared. He tossed me the Fire Dragon Sword he held in one hand.

“Here you go.”

“Thanks!”

As I caught it, I felt an incredible surge of power coursing through the Fire Dragon Sword. The divine aura and spirit energy were at their peak, radiating overwhelming force. I could confidently say the Fire Dragon Sword was fully restored.

“Fire Dragon Incarnate!” I shouted its name, hoping she’d emerge, but she didn’t show up from the sword. Watching it with confusion, the Celestial Sage explained, “She’s fully healed, but seems to want to hit max power first. She’s working on reclaiming her full strength as the Dragon King. Who knows when she’ll wake?”

“The Dragon King’s power?”

“You know Fire Dragon Incarnate is the Dragon King, right? Unlike the Four Great Dragons, she’s the manifestation of Shenglong and has never showcased her power before, so Celestial Realm immortals likely didn’t want to unseal her.”

“Why would they hesitate?”

“Fire Dragon Incarnate is basically a surveillance agent sent by the Emperor to monitor the Celestial Realm. Despite being tucked away in the Celestial Realm, her status doesn’t change. The Divine Temple is a higher dimension than the Celestial Realm, and she holds a significant position.”

“Hmm.”

So, the Dragon King’s power…

‘Oh? Watching over…’

Something suddenly clicked for me. But now wasn’t the time to explore that thought further, so I pushed it aside for now.

I then asked the Celestial Sage, “Do you know anything about the Emperor’s Divine Temple?”

“Just the basics. Honestly, it’s too much of a mystery to figure out. The Three Sovereigns probably don’t even know.”

I decided to ask a question I had been tipped off about by Mangnyang earlier on. “Have you seen the Jade Emperor or Guang Chengzi lately?”

“Huh? Why do you ask?”

“As I said earlier, I believe there may be a problem involving the Four Great Beings. I need to know if the Jade Emperor is safe and if Guang Chengzi is currently in the Celestial Realm.”

“……”

The Celestial Sage pondered before responding, “I’ve fought the Jade Emperor.”

“What?!”

“Didn’t I mention taking down the Celestial Realm? I went to the Celestial Realm’s core and had a good scrap with the Jade Emperor. I even landed a hit on him. Haha!”

“You fought and won against the Jade Emperor?”

“It’s quite a tale…”

He rubbed his temples as he spoke, “I used to think the Jade Emperor was the top dog in the Celestial Realm. I heard if I took him down, I’d rule the Celestial Realm, because sucking in his divine essence would transfer authority to me. But after landing a punch, nothing happened.”

“What do you mean?”

“It means the Jade Emperor lacked the divine authority that comes with his title. Even after taking serious damage, his divine essence never popped out…”

“……!!”

“And the craziest part? He resurrected right after I hit him. I still don’t get it.”

“Does that mean the Jade Emperor is just on the level of a trivial summoning?”

The Celestial Sage looked at me like I was crazy. “What kind of nonsense are you spouting? I only managed to capitalize on his carelessness and hit him once. The Jade Emperor is undoubtedly in my top three strongest opponents throughout my life. He’s no joke. If bad luck struck, I’d have died fighting him.”

“Ah…”

“Seriously. You’re great, but sometimes you really don’t pick up on things.”

It struck me that the information he just conveyed was meaningful; I might not completely understand it now, but I made a mental note to remember every word. I could always count on the strategists to analyze it later.

“I also don’t know anything about Guang Chengzi. I’ve never seen him.”

“Even though he’s one of the Twelve Celestial Greats?”

“Just because he’s called one of them doesn’t mean his position is guaranteed.”

“Didn’t Guang Chengzi have any close immortal connections?”

“If you insist, there’s the Heavenly Mysterious Woman. In other words, only someone like her would qualify to meet Guang Chengzi directly. But she rarely shares details about him.”

“……?”

“Guang Chengzi is treated as a being on a different plane from the other Celestial Greats. None of the other Twelve Celestial Greats consider him an equal.”

“Hmm…”

I pondered and then said, “Do you think the Heavenly Mysterious Woman would have insight about Guang Chengzi?”

“Being of similar age, it’s quite possible.”

Right as the Celestial Sage wrapped his words, he called out, “By the way, Yeodong-bin, come out for a moment!”

Just like that, a surge of spirit energy erupted from me and manifested into Yeodong-bin. Through this projection, he greeted the Celestial Sage respectfully.

[Celestial Sage, what do you need?]

“Nothing big. The Heavenly Mysterious Woman is calling for you.”

[… what for?]

“Not sure. I don’t know.”

[Got it.]

The image of Yeodong-bin vanished from sight. With the projection, he didn’t seem too bound by the travel issues of the Celestial Realm.

‘It’s probably about the Heavenly Mysterious Woman’s disciples being targeted by the Ten Heavenly Generals.’

I recalled from my past life that one of the Ten Heavenly Generals had secretly been slaying the Heavenly Mysterious Woman’s disciples, and that it was actually You Tian Jun. She was likely summoning Yeodong-bin to assign him a crucial mission to stop him.

But something felt off.

Why wouldn’t the Heavenly Mysterious Woman entrust the task to the Celestial Sage? They were on the same side, and the Celestial Sage would have a far higher chance of taking down someone like the Ten Heavenly Generals than Yeodong-bin. It didn’t make much sense to send him for such a difficult mission.

‘What a puzzlement…’

Revealing the truth about the Ten Heavenly Generals being a looming threat and sharing the intel I obtained as a reborn person could make things easier for the Heavenly Mysterious Woman. However, it would also signal a far more dangerous battle than any I had encountered so far. There was currently no method to deal with the true power of the Queen Mother of the West, and the inevitable result would only lead to the annihilation of my side.

‘Even Gong Gong, who has gathered four of the Seven Luminaries, had a tough time against the Queen Mother. No one can match her in the world.’

Unless I had sufficient power or means to take down the Queen Mother, I couldn’t afford to meddle with that massive causal web. Even unsealed, she was already powerful enough to tear apart the manifestation of the Old Ruler with ease. This would be akin to pulling a tiger’s whiskers.

I recalled Mangnyang’s desperate words from earlier. [Baek Woong, never even think about facing a divine being without collecting at least four of the Seven Luminaries. Keep that in your mind.]

What Mangnyang predicted was indeed turning out to be true. Even a being from the Giant Race like Gong Gong, who gathered four of the Seven Luminaries, found it exceedingly difficult to confront the Three Sovereigns, Nüwa and the like. At that time, Gong Gong’s power was significantly greater than that of the Great Immortal Peng Zuo, yet the gap remained vast.

‘So, for me, as a mere human, gathering at least five of the Seven Luminaries is necessary.’

Thus, I had to find a way to get closer to the Seven Luminaries. I couldn’t delay going to Dark Heaven Village any longer to acquire the spirit, Tydaht. If I were able to carve a path to obtain Tydaht, it might even be possible to gather the Six Needs at once.

The Celestial Sage said, “I don’t know what you have planned, but if you use both the Ruyi Staff and the Fire Dragon Sword together, you should be able to overcome most formidable foes. So good luck out there.”

“Thank you.”

“Let’s grab a drink later.”

After he disappeared, I gathered with my strategists for a meeting.

Then Mangnyang suggested, “I think Fire Dragon Incarnate will soon awaken. Let’s wait until she opens her eyes.”

“Is Yeodong-bin’s absence a problem?”

“Yes. If the Heavenly Mysterious Woman summoned him, it may take a while for Baek Woong to be summoned back. Plus, it’s uncertain if Yeodong-bin can really manage to summon properly from Dark Heaven Village.”

“There are three ways to enter Dark Heaven Village. Which one will you choose?”

Mangnyang replied, “Naturally, we’ll follow the guidance of the Golden Lamp.”

“Hmm, sounds like a trap waiting to be sprung.”

“Yes, but it’s the best option.”

“Could we try going through the Dream World instead of sending Baek Woong?”

“That’s a possibility, but if we can’t relay that experience back to Baek Woong, it’ll be pointless.”

“That’s true enough.”

The Sword Demon remarked with self-reflection, “Wow, sometimes it feels like our martial arts training is just meaningless.”

“Not at all. The possibility of defeating the Old Ruler with martial arts has been proposed.”

“I sometimes think about this. If a Martial God exists, what does he want? And what level of mastery is considered the ultimate in martial arts?”

He continued, “Baek Woong, make sure you achieve your ambitions.”

“I will.”

A month later, Fire Dragon Incarnate finally woke up from her slumber. The moment she opened her eyes, she said, [My peak power has returned. The very strength I once held when I first tasted the Celestial Realm… ]

“Does that mean you can fully use your powers now?”

[What do you desire from me? If you’re calling me from the Dimension Door to recharge in the Celestial Realm, you must need something from me.]

I explained my situation to Fire Dragon Incarnate. “… So I need you to help me when I challenge Dark Heaven Village.”

[You’re quite reckless. Why would you venture into that cursed realm where even the Great Immortal could meet his demise?]

“I have to find Tydaht.”

[Tydaht… you’re aiming to collect the Seven Luminaries.]

After thinking for a moment, Fire Dragon Incarnate stated, [Alright, I’ll assist you. But there’s one condition.]

“What is it?”

What came next surprised me. [You will have to take me to one of the Five Great Mountains for my true form, Shenglong, to communicate with me.]

 

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