Direct descendant of the Mountain Divine Spirit!
Wol Ryeong is startled to learn that Seo Gyeong is a direct descendant of that terrifying Devil God.
"Seo Gyeong...did you know about this...?"
At Wol Ryeong's words, Seo Gyeong shakes his head.
"...I'm learning it for the first time. But...for what reason am I said to be the descendant of the Devil God?"
"Several hundreds of thousands of years ago, I once met the incarnation of that Devil God who infiltrated the Vast Cold Realm. At that time, the Vast Cold Realm was not in the Earth Boundary Heavenly Domain but in the Sun and Moon Heavenly Domain..."
From Jin Wol-ryeong's mouth flows a story about the Devil God.
Hearing of the Devil God's feats, Wol Ryeong cannot help but click her tongue.
"...In only a few tens of thousands of years, they ascended from the Lower Realm, reached the Sacred Vessel stage, fought against all the cultivators of the Entering Nirvana stage and Sacred Vessel stage in the Sun and Moon Heavenly Domain, and finally attempted to annihilate the entire Sun and Moon Heavenly Domain with a terrifying Immortal Art, failed, and afterward clashed with seven True Immortals and fifty Entering Nirvana stage cultivators, yet emerged victorious!?"
"That is right. Those are the incidents and disasters that that clone of the Devil God caused in the Sun and Moon Heavenly Domain. I once met that incarnation of the Devil God back then. At first, I only thought of them as a human brimming with talent...but only later did I realize they were a Devil God unlike any other in this world."
Jin Wol-ryeong clicks her tongue and continues.
"Appearance can be the same. This world is vast, and there are many other Heavenly Domains. But...from this child I sense the same flow of attraction force, the same lingering echoes of history, as that being. His appearance is identical, and he even carries a trace similar to that being? Then with high certainty, he must be a blood descendant."
"...That's..."
"Hey, kid. You must have sometimes seen, within the darkness, a colossal existence beckoning toward you. Or you must have had nightmares connected to the Glass Sword Mountain, which symbolizes that existence. Perhaps that being has at times endlessly whispered something to you; is that not so?"
At those words, Seo Gyeong seems to hesitate for a long while, then exhales a deep sigh and speaks.
"...That is...so."
"As I suspected...how pitiful! That means as a descendant of the Devil God, you are receiving direct and indirect influence from them."
"..."
"Seek out ritual books or records concerning dreams and interpret your dream. By doing so, you may come to know what that Evil God desires. And if you do so, you may by your own hand do what that Devil God does not wish, and thereby break their purpose."
"Ah...yes... I see..."0
"Still, despite such an Evil God constantly beckoning you, you neither went mad, nor suffered mutation, nor returned to thee. Truly, you are a child possessing an upright and extraordinary mental strength."
"..."
At Jin Wol-ryeong's praise, Seo Gyeong's expression turns strange for a moment.
Seeing this, Wol Ryeong feels an unknown feeling.
'You...have suffered much.'
She always thought of Seo Gyeong as someone meaninglessly favored by Master.
That is what she thought...
But even Seo Gyeong carried pains unknown to others.
Perhaps, her master's favoritism toward Seo Gyeong was not mere favoritism, but because such favoritism was necessary for Seo Gyeong's mind to endure.
'I...without knowing anything all this time, only hated him.'
Without any concern for Seo Gyeong's pain, she only hated him.
Only envied him.
Even resented him.
But...
'I am sorry. I...was the ugly one.'
She realizes that the one she truly must hate and resent is not Seo Gyeong, but her own malice.
Bududuuk...
'It is so shameful...I cannot stay still.'
Squeeze...
Wol Ryeong tightly holds Seo Gyeong's hand and speaks.
"...Do not worry, Seo Gyeong. Being born with the bloodline of an evil god...is not a sin."
"..."
"No matter what that vile existence does to you, no matter what cruel malice they reveal to you...I will help you."
"..."
"That vile, filthy, repulsive, detestable Devil God will not be able to lay a single finger on you."
"..."
"I promise. No matter what I must do, I will help you escape from that nauseating fate!"
Seo Gyeong says nothing.
But Wol Ryeong can tell from the trembling that runs through Seo Gyeong's body.
'He's overwhelmed. Of course he would be.'
Until now, no one has recognized his burdens, nor even tried to.
For someone else to shoulder that burden for him must be immense for Seo Gyeong.
Seeing this, Jin Wol-ryeong also watches the two with satisfaction.
'That child...is interesting.'
In Jin Wol-ryeong's eyes, it is clear.
Within Wol Ryeong's heart essence, the lumps that have been knotted together are melting away.
Those lumps, originally bound by resentment and hatred toward her teacher and Seo Gyeong, within obsession and thirst for revenge, are now largely dissolving, and in their place new emotions are beginning to fill.
'Huhu, yes. By gradually becoming honest with her feelings...she will thus come to enlightenment.'
Jin Wol-ryeong looks at Wol Ryeong holding Seo Gyeong's hand and smiles warmly.
Afterward, matters proceed smoothly.
Jin Wol-ryeong exchanges several 'greetings' with Yu Jin, then skips Yu Jin's procedures and, laughing, slings Wol Ryeong's entire group over her shoulders.
"Haha, you have grown much, Yu Jin. At this pace, you will soon be able to approach Fighting Dance Fifth Step."
"...Could you not speak in terms of the Heart Dao Blooming system instead?"
"I do not know such things. In my time, each person brimmed with self-respect and individuality, so we never spoke of realms by names that did not suit us. Kid these days, tsk tsk...I miss you, Elder Jang Ik!"
Jin Wol-ryeong stomps her foot, and in an instant carries Seo Gyeong, Wol Ryeong, Mu Geom, and Bi Hwa out of the Heart Tribe territory.
Chwaaaa—
Scenes of the Vast Cold Realm flash past, and Wol Ryeong glances back at the Heart Tribe territory.
"...It was a place I wanted to look around at least once. It is a shame."
"Haha, do not worry. In the Vast Cold Realm, you can meet Heart Tribe fellows everywhere, so there is no particular need to cling to their territory."
"Still, the Heart Tribe...how fascinating. In the Heavenly King Heavenly Domain, I never encountered such a race..."
"They are especially numerous in the Vast Cold Realm. Especially since the spread of the Vast Cold Martial Alliance, truly, those fellows are spread all across the Vast Cold Realm."
Kugugugugu—
In an instant, Seo Gyeong, Wol Ryeong, Mu Geom, and Bi Hwa arrive in the Human Race territory.
Kwaaaaaaang!
A massive Sky Island Archipelago.
At the front of that cloud-filled zone, Jin Wol-ryeong slams down.
"First, go to a place called Temporal Fate Island, register your names with the Human Race Grand Alliance, and...do this and that properly. Then, since I have brought you this far, I will be taking my leave. The request I received from the Radiance Spirit Sect was only to bring you as far as the Human Race territory..."
With that, Jin Wol-ryeong drops them off in front of the Human Race territory and then stomps once more, disappearing to somewhere far away.
Then, Wol Ryeong takes Seo Gyeong's hand and enters the Human Race territory of the Vast Cold Realm.
"Hm... You say you come from another Heavenly Domain? Radiance Spirit Sect... Yes, here it is. As it happens, there is a letter sent to our Grand Alliance from that Radiance Spirit Sect. I see...so you have come to subjugate the Thunder Resonance Valley."
The various administrative procedures of Temporal Fate Island finish in an instant.
This is because the Radiance Spirit Sect had already sent a letter in advance to the Human Race Grand Alliance of the Vast Cold Realm.
"Welcome. I hear you are disciples of the colossal sect called Radiance Spirit Sect. I am Wi Jin-nambuk, the vice-alliance leader of the Grand Cultivator Association. Since my father's generation, we have been serving as the strategist of the Human Race Grand Alliance."
"Your father would be..."
"Grand Cultivator Wi Ryeong-seon, formerly of the Grand Cultivator Association, is my father. Of course...compared to disciples of colossal sects such as the Radiance Spirit Sect, whose power surpasses even the entirety of the Human Race, it is but an empty name."
Introducing himself as the strategist of the current Human Race Grand Alliance's Grand Cultivator Association, Wi Jin-nambuk laughs heartily and welcomes them.
"By the way, Daoists, how many thousands of years do you plan to stay in the Vast Cold Realm? For now, your strength is somewhat weakened due to the adaptation period, but once that adaptation period passes, I heard your abilities will rise to the Integration stage. If so, then while you remain here, the Grand Cultivator Association's power will effectively double...which means the Human Race will be able to accomplish much."
"Th-Thousands of years...?"
At Wi Jin-nambuk's casual remark, not only Wol Ryeong but also Mu Geom and Bi Hwa's faces stiffen.
"W-We cannot stay for such a long time."
At Mu Geom's words, Wi Jin-nambuk asks curiously.
"A long time, you say...? For us Grand Cultivators, a few thousand years is...ah, perhaps you are not yet at the Integration stage?"
"Other than Seo Gyeong here, all of us are disciples of the Integration stage. But we still consider thousands of years far too long a time."
"Hm...So in the Heavenly King Heavenly Domain, the sense of time must be different...By the way, the ages of fellow Daoists are..."
Hearing the disciples of the Radiance Spirit Sect call thousands of years a 'long time,' Wi Jin-nambuk asks about their ages just in case.
And soon, Wi Jin-nambuk's face is dyed with shock.
"This year, I am 513 years old."
Mu Geom.
"I am 430...years old."
Bi Hwa.
"Seo Gyeong and I are both 30 years old."
Wol Ryeong and Seo Gyeong.
At their introductions, Wi Jin-nambuk is so shocked his eyes nearly pop out, gasping for breath, and the administrative disciples of Temporal Fate Island listening nearby also stare at them in astonishment, eyes bulging.
"M-Madness... Not even a thousand years old and already the Integration stage...? No, not even a hundred years old and the Integration stage...? D-Do not lie! Adaptation period or not...lies are...heott!"
Wi Jin-nambuk, eyes bulging in disbelief, suddenly seizes Mu Geom's hand and injects his consciousness to check, but soon exhales empty breaths once more.
"Heheook...! R-Really is the Integration stage...!?"
What is weakened during the adaptation period is only the magnitude of their power; their realm remains unchanged.
In other words, the abilities of their realm, such as the Integrated Dao Domain and their Refining Void Dharma Treasure, remain intact.
Wi Jin-nambuk, having re-confirmed the realms of Wol Ryeong's group, stares at them with a dazed look, his voice trembling on its own.
"Radiance Spirit Sect...so this is an Immortal sect backed by True Immortals...a genuine Immortal Cultivation Sect. Hahaha, when the Esteemed Ones came and said that the strength of the Radiance Spirit Sect alone is equal to the Six Great Heaven Tribe Races, I thought it was a joke..."
At Wi Jin-nambuk's intense reaction, Wol Ryeong's group seems to grow proud, confidence rising on their faces.
"I shall escort you to the Grand Cultivator Association...!"
Thus, Wol Ryeong's group once more follows Wi Jin-nambuk's lead to Heavenly Human Island of the Human Race Grand Alliance.
To the Grand Cultivator Association.
Human Race Grand Alliance, Heavenly Human Island.
The main mountain of the Grand Cultivator Association.
There, all the Integration stage Grand Cultivators of the Human Race Grand Alliance assemble.
Grand Cultivator Association Leader, Gol Maek.
Strategist, Wi Jin-nambuk.
Penglai Palace Lord, Hon Jin.
Black Ghost Valley Grand Elder, Heo Nam-gwon.
Azure Heaven Creation Sect Supreme Sect Master, Cheongmun Gok.
Grand Cultivator of the Mountain and Rivers origin, Do Ryeok.
A total of six Grand Cultivators.
Before them, four figures appear.
Wol Ryeong, Seo Gyeong, Mu Geom, and Bi Hwa.
"Please offer your greetings. This is the Grand Cultivator Association Leader, Lady Gol Maek. And this one is..."
The greetings between the disciples of the Radiance Spirit Sect and the Grand Cultivators of the Human Race are brief.
"Astonishing. All of you have reached the Integration stage at such young ages... The might of the Radiance Spirit Sect is clear."
Gol Maek speaks in a slightly aged voice, and at her words, everyone nods in agreement.
"Disciples of the Radiance Spirit Sect, first rest and recover from your journey. In a few years, the so-called adaptation period will end. When it does, as long as you carry out a few missions assigned by this Grand Cultivator Association, then we shall in turn aid the mission of the Radiance Spirit Sect's disciples to subjugate Thunder Resonance Valley."
At that, Mu Geom gives a short laugh and speaks.
"Hm, forgive me for saying this, but what missions could mere Integration stage cultivators from a backwater Middle Realm have to assign to disciples of the great Radiance Spirit Sect?"
At that arrogant remark, the atmosphere in the hall instantly turns cold.