Water Town—
In the central plains, the area south of Yangtze river was called Jiangnan.
Jiangnan had a dense network of water paths around it and it was known as Water Town for a reason.
In this area, most places are built in an attached format on the outside. And there was a wheel in front of the house which has the river flowing through it.
Seol-Hwi was living in a private residence in the water town.
But it was different from the other buildings which were common around here. The house seemed a bit out of place on its own, and the height of each building was three stories.
It was because he paid three gold coins for this and bought it from a broker.
“Shhh.”
Seol-Hwi was controlling his breathing.
His bottom wear had been torn in several pieces, and the shirt seemed to have been burned up with ashes around.
Just today, Seol-Hwi felt a rise in his body as he attained a higher level of understanding.
Similar to in the past when he was fighting with Wang Mo-ryeok, he came to the end of Peak Demon.
“How long did this take?”
Seol-Hwi counted it on his fingers.
Roughly, it seemed to be about a week or longer. It did not take much time to climb back to that level once again. Perhaps this was because he had experienced it once already.
And in front of his eyes, a clear piece of evidence was there to prove that he had a rise in level.
<You have learned Heavenly Detention Ice Fire Storm.> <You have learned Annihilation of All Things.> <You have learned Martial Supreme Peak Wind God.>
I’ve regained the strength of my former self.
These were the special skills that came from making it to Peak Demon.
He now knew how strong these skills were because of the fight against Wang Mo-ryeok.
Of course, he came to know how terrifying it was to be fighting against someone on a higher level and managed to do this.
“Master, are you here?”
Seol-Hwi answered back right then,
“Songhwa, you’re back? Come in.”
Was it because his neck felt sore? His voice didn’t sound like his own.
Come to think of it, he had hardly even talked to Songhwa or Imugi lately.
A clue to reaching the Peak Demon, it was because he was in a hurry to get it.
He seems to have noticed my change.
Songhwa was a wise child despite his age. Judging from the fact that they had not spoken for a while, it was only now that he seemed to have noticed the change.
“Then I will come in.”
Drrr
And as soon as he opened the door and entered with a sack in hand, his eyes widened in shock.
“You have taken the next step!”
Wheik
The windows and doors were closed, but the wind seemed to be flowing around. Cold energy along with hot energy were mixed around.
However, he did not feel any demonic energy. That said, it would also be strange to call it righteous energy.
“Right. What happened?”
In response to Seol-Hwi’s question, Songhwa took out a letter from his sleeve and held it out.
“Here.”
Seol-Hwi received it from Songhwa and began to read it slowly.
“Hmm.”
It was news sent by the subordinate who went back to the Demonic Sect. When Seol-Hwi died during the mission, the Earth Demon regretted it and skipped several meals.
When he heard Imugi was dead, Elder Baekhon shed tears. All the remaining subordinates said that they had returned to the Hidden Truth Corps.
“Yorim was promoted to captain.”
“Yes.”
“If it is him, he will do just fine.”
The contents ended there.
Seeing that there was no mention of deaths among them, everything went as planned. Perhaps it was because of the difficulty of the mission, they seemed to understand what things were like.
Wheik!
Seol-Hwi burned the parchment in an instant and destroyed the evidence.
After the parchment vanished up with smoke, Seol-Hwi’s gaze turned to the sack that Songhwa brought.
“What is it?”
“Ah, yes Master.”
And he undid the sack, Seol-Hwi could see there were coins and medicinal herbs within. Seeing that, Seol-Hwi was shocked.
“You’ve already collected this much?”
“Yes. The business went pretty well and with the help of Imugi-hyung who is great at doing work behind the scenes, things went smoothly.”
“Huh. What a wonderful thing.”
“And look at this.”
Songhwa held out two medicinal herbs.
One was shaped like a pill while the other was tangled with thick stems like plant herbs.
“Has to be an elixir.”
“Yes. They gave me this after solving their troubles. One is the Jade Emperor Swell, which was passed down as an heirloom, and the other was called the Radical Leaf.”
“Well.”
Seol-Hwi picked up the two of them and brought them to the golden belt.
<Cannot be deposited! The item is not a treasure level elixir!>
“Hmm. This should be handed down to Imugi. It seems like it is good on the surface, but I don’t think it is that valuable.”
“Ah… we were scammed.”
Songhwa pouted, feeling disappointed. Seeing this, Seol-Hwi smiled.
Songhwa was sure that if asked, he would know the reasoning for what happened, but an elixir was just not something he could check the quality of, because it was a field that only warriors were well versed in.
“Calling it a scam is not that fair. It is good enough medicine though. And in such a short time, you managed to do so much.”
“Uh… Yes. Hehe.”
Songhwa immediately felt better after being praised. It was like watching a child.
How many times had he taken the role of an elder person?
Seol-Hwi picked up the golden things inside and put them in the toolbox.
<You have received 500G> [Toolbox] 1,890G
The amount was immediately updated.
G is gold so it won’t be easy to get around 1 million…
When Seol-Hwi came to the central plains, he set several goals. And the first was to collect as much as possible.
Money once placed in the toolbox would not disappear, so he thought to save a lot in case he needed it later.
Among the weapons here, there were those which required 1 million, and the second was elixirs.
Unlike the Demonic Sect where they made their own, the central plains was known to have many famous pills and drinks.
Among them, the best ones were known to improve health and internal energy. Gathering them as much as possible would be important.
These would be preparations for the future as well, so if he chose to return back to the Three Lives Presented, he can achieve explosive rise in a short period of time.
If that happens, escaping from an unseen crisis would be significantly easier, and of course, the last was martial arts.
“Master. How is this?”
Songhwa held out a book which looked like a martial arts book.
On the front cover was written the words “Three Changes Sword Art Understanding.”
“Where did you get this?”
“Ah, four days back. I accepted a request from a disciple of a subordinate sect of Wudang.”
“A Wudang sub sect disciple?”
Seol-Hwi was shocked as he took the book.
<You have obtained the method of the Wudang Sect.>
Uh?
He was a bit taken aback at the message which came to his mind.
The text had appeared saying he obtained it, but a message saying he had learned it did not appear. This was the first condition.
What could this be?
Seol-Hwi tilted his head and began to read the book.
In the first chapter, 32 movement techniques were recorded. In the , basic movements such as horizontal and vertical slashes, and stabbing techniques were shown.
This is the sword technique which forms the core of everything.
Seol-Hwi nodded.
Slashing and thrusting were the basic movements.
Perhaps the other techniques were simply to move on.
I see. This is the basics of martial arts in all manners. So that the basics are mastered, we have to be able to reach Supreme Demon to make it perfect.
It was then that Seol-Hwi seemed to know why the text did not appear. It was so plain and easy that it would be hard to master it to perfection.
And he took this phenomenon to heart.
“Thank you, for bringing such precious martial arts.”
“Huhu…”
Songhwa scratched his head.
Actually, the book brought was among the most commonly sold books in the streets, but Seol-Hwi did not know that and Songhwa had no understanding, so they just said good words to each other.
“Ah, and I have something else.”
Seol-Hwi nodded at it.
It seemed like the kid had a lot to say since they had not talked in a long time.
“Right. Speak.”
“It’s a request that I received right this morning and it seemed interesting.”
Songhwa explained what happened during the day.
The man from the head of the Jong Family, their situation, and finding a master for their match.
“Songhwa.”
Hearing that serious tone, he looked at Seol-Hwi.
“Yes, Master.”
“What is the most important thing when we chose to come here?”
“Money, elixirs, and martial arts.”
“Right. So you decided on a number?”
“No. I asked them how far they could go with this.”
“HAHAHA.”
Seol-Hwi smiled.
As expected, Songhwa is the one who should be put in place of negotiations happening.
“So?”
“5,000 gold.”
“Ah…”
And soon, he sighed in regret.
“The family doesn’t seem rich then?”
“That was the first time talking to them…”
“Did they offer an advance payment? I cannot move without it.”
“Of course I received it.”
Songhwa took out gold coins.
<You received 100G.> [Toolbox] 1,990G
“You are thinking of it.”
When Songhwa grinned, Seol-Hwi nodded.
“Is there a reason not to? I finished my work here and I am free to move.”
“Uh? Will you send Imugi-hyung?”
“Of course. Ah, I feel like we all should be there.”
“Me too?”
Songhwa asked curiously, but Seol-Hwi said nothing.
5,000G. It was a small amount from a family which was well known, but it could also be that the people who came did not have much to give.
Once he visited the place, there would be more room to bargain, and he could get bigger rewards or more money too.
“So, where are they?”
“There is a wagon waiting outside.”
“Is that so? Let’s go get Imugi then.”
When Seol-Hwi stood up, Songhwa hurriedly followed.
This could be a long trip, so Songhwa could not stop his smile.
“If you ask me who the body… un, um…”
Imugi could be heard mumbling while sleeping in the second floor room. He seemed to be asleep all day, but the fact that he went to the red light district could be understood.
It was because of his ways to attract women or to bring in guests, so he asked Songhwa to handle the other things.
Once he took over the work as a painter, Imugi seemed to have a strange sense for it.
The fact that Songhwa was able to move from the streets to a hall was because of this.
“Hmm. Hmm.”
The two tapped Imugi.
“Leave him.”
Imugi was asleep.
Tuk. Tuk.
But they tapped him on the toes again.
“Ah, fuck! Who!”
He got up screaming.
At the sound of Imugi throwing fist in the air—
“Me.”
Seol-Hwi said.
“Uh? Ah! Master. What is it? Could it be that you have attained enlightenment?”
The appearance of Seol-Hwi whom he had not seen for a while made a blush come across his face.
“Right. I was lucky.”
“Congratulations on taking the step! But, what is it?”
“I took on a request. Let’s do it together.”
Seol-Hwi turned around and looked at the silk clothes hanging.
“Can I wear this?”
“Of course.”
When Seol-Hwi took random clothes and went out, Imugi quickly began to get dressed as well along with bringing some rice balls.
After getting ready to head out, Imugi looked at Songhwa and Seol-Hwi and asked,
“Not working today?”
“Ah, I decided to close the business for a couple days.”
“Why?”
“Found something good.”
Songhwa pointed to the other side. A dazzling carriage stood there.
“Now. Should we leave?”
At Seol-Hwi’s words, Songhwa and Imugi got into the carriage.
This was the first trip to the central plains after coming to Hangzhou.