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“What on earth is going on? How are you even here?”

“The master of this dream is Master Mangnyang. Since the master invited me, it’s only natural that I can come in too,” replied the nonchalant Master of the Twelve Joules, glancing over at Mangnyang.

“A black cat, huh? Does Baek Woong really see you that way? You’re cuter than usual!”

[I quite like it.]

“This is just too different,” Master of the Twelve Joules said, a flicker of fear evident in his expression as he cautiously kept his distance from Mangnyang, as if he were a monster himself.

He looked at me and said, “Well, we just took down the Sea God together, didn’t we? Plus, you’ve become a member of the Twelve Joules, so can we consider ourselves companions now? I was thinking we could strengthen our bond with a contract and fight together moving forward.”

I was left speechless by his brazen words.

“Isn’t that a bit too easy to say?”

“Why? The Death Sea is part of the Eastern Coast, right?”

“That’s not the kind of time to use that phrase.” I glared at him with sharp eyes.

“And I know you didn’t go all out during the Sea God hunt,” I added. Though it seemed like he was trying hard, I felt that Master of the Twelve Joules was holding back some hidden trump card and merely observing the situation.

He was still marked as an exceedingly untrustworthy character in my book. Master of the Twelve Joules replied smoothly, “You must have a lot of questions about me, right? Maybe if we get closer, you could learn some of my secrets. I’d be willing to show some loyalty to my contractor.”

“……”

“By defeating the Sea God, my plans have overcome a significant hurdle. At the very least, I’ve bought us a hundred years. If you help just a bit more, we could aim for even greater things.”

“First off, can you explain what this contract actually entails?” I kept my guard up as Master of the Twelve Joules opened his mouth.

“It’s nothing serious. The content of the contract is [We will do our best to help each other], and that’s it.”

“……? Do we really need a contract for that?”

“While implementing the contract, we get the temp aid of Master Mangnyang as mediator.” I looked at Master Mangnyang in surprise. He sat against the wall, seemingly indifferent, not even looking this way.

‘Blessing of the Sky!’ The nature of this blessing was hazy yet promising for humans, so I caught on to Master of the Twelve Joules’ intentions and said, “Are you trying to get me to contract with you to gain Master Mangnyang’s assistance?”

“In a nutshell, yes. It’s the best option to cope with the impending disaster.”

“The conditions seem too good to be true…”

“They’re not that great,” he replied with a wry smile. “His blessing will activate at most once or twice. Plus, I need to suffer significant losses for this contract. Even so, without Master Mangnyang’s blessing, we couldn’t deal with divine beings going forward, so I want to make sure we have this contract secured.”

I turned to Master Mangnyang and asked, “Is this true?”

[Yes.] Master Mangnyang licked his paw as he replied.

[All my power is being used to suppress the magic sealed in Luoyang. Otherwise, I couldn’t afford to give even a speck of strength. However, Master of the Twelve Joules is qualified and strong enough to warrant a permit for the contract.]

“Will giving power through the contract be problematic?”

[It’s following the law of cause and effect, so any lack of power will be immediately replenished. A Great Being will assist in that contract.] That’s how it works.

But I remembered a time when I had desperately asked Master Mangnyang for the Blessing of the Sky and was turned down. I felt uneasy that this was different, so I carefully asked, “Are transaction and contract different?”

[You’re surprisingly astute. Not a single human before me has pinpointed that difference.]

“……”

I fell silent at Mangnyang’s engaging words. I feared I might provoke unnecessary suspicion.

“I’ll answer that question.” Master of the Twelve Joules interrupted. “A deal can be proposed by anyone, but a contract follows a set procedure. I stumbled upon the details of contracts, which is why I’m able to request one from Master Mangnyang, and he cannot refuse the contract like he can a trade.”

“Can I also request a contract from Master Mangnyang?” Master of the Twelve Joules looked troubled and shook his head.

“Probably not.”

“If you teach me about contracts and give me the method, I’ll agree.”

“No way. That’s not something I can decide.” When I glanced at Master Mangnyang, he said, [That’s true.] Although it seemed like Master of the Twelve Joules was eager, his response suggested there was some hidden secret behind the contract.

After pondering their words for a while, I finally said, “Let’s talk later. This feels too sudden.” I couldn’t just rush into it without understanding what I was getting into.

Master of the Twelve Joules sighed in disappointment. “Come on. You really think I took all this time to find you? It would have been easy with the help of the Three Masters, but that’s not how it works. The contract can only be conducted within Master Mangnyang’s dream.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“…It means it has to be now or never.” He spoke hesitantly before adding, “Think seriously. We all saw the power of the Sea God, right? Among the Old Rulers, there are plenty of beings stronger than him. Holding your ground against them without the blessing of a god is impossible.”

“……”

“Until now, most of us have just been watching the situation, but now that the Sea God is down, signs will appear everywhere. I don’t dare to face that danger on my own without the strength of Master Mangnyang. You probably feel the same way.”

Somehow, this time I could feel his sincerity. He still seemed to be hiding something, but it was true that he desperately wanted to make this contract.

What should I do? I made my decision.

“I haven’t received everything I should get from you. It would be better to settle that before discussing this calmly.”

Information about Chi You and Peng Zuo, along with assistance from Musashi and Master of the Twelve Joules. I hadn’t received a single thing of the promised payment yet. In such a situation, I couldn’t casually enter a contract without knowing what was what.

Master of the Twelve Joules sighed. “Damn… there might not be any time left.”

“No concessions.”

“Fine. Then let’s talk next time.”

Swoosh! Master of the Twelve Joules disappeared, leaving Master Mangnyang’s dream.

Master Mangnyang spoke, [Do you find him suspicious?]

“Wouldn’t you suspect him? He shows up in dreams wearing a puppy disguise.”

[It would’ve been better if it were a cat disguise.]

“……” Is he being serious? Just as I found that hard to believe, Master Mangnyang continued, [Go out now.]

I woke up and explained everything that had just happened to Mangnyang. He was taken aback.

“You met Master of the Twelve Joules in a dream? Do you think it was an illusion?”

“I have no idea. However, Master Mangnyang has no reason to deliberately deceive me.”

“Hmm…” Mangnyang said. “Let’s proceed for now.”

I set the altar with Mangnyang, who became the host of the ceremony and started reciting the command.

Crack! After a while, a huge soul possessed Mangnyang’s body, and seeing his eyes go blank, I realized that the Great Immortal had arrived.

[Apostle! What brings you to call upon an immortal?]

This ceremony was similar to when rituals were conducted to offer sacrifices. This time, the offering was half of the Portrait Immortal, ten out of twenty. According to Zhuge Sa, even ten Portrait Immortals were considered a hefty price.

“Who are you?”

[I am the Primordial Void Ruler.]

As expected, the first one to appear was the Primordial Void Ruler. I recalled the plans I made with Mangnyang and told him, “I’m sorry, but please summon the Queen Mother of the West.”

[What? You should’ve just called her from the start…]

“Please.”

The Primordial Void Ruler grumbled and passed it to the Queen Mother of the West. As soon as she appeared, I moved on to the next request. This continued until finally, the Great Immortal Tai Gong-mang showed up. I said to him, “Tai Gong-mang, I want the right to renegotiate.”

[Are you serious?]

“Yes.”

[Alright. I’ll remove one of the Great Immortal’s energies from your body. Which one will it be?]

“Well…” I answered Tai Gong-mang’s question and summoned the Great Immortal once more.

Crack! The soul of the Great Immortal that descended upon Mangnyang seemed to find the situation quite troublesome and said, [Giving you my blessing isn’t hard, but do you really need it, Apostle?]

“I do. Desperately.”

[Hmm, then I will accept the request…] Before the Great Immortal could finish, I firmly added, “I won’t be satisfied with just your fixed knowledge of martial arts.”

[…What do you mean?]

“I want to connect with the Matrix of Fate with you.”

[……]

“Given the value of the offering I gave, it should be more than feasible.”

This unexpected request seemed to catch the Great Immortal off guard, as he hesitated for a moment before saying, [I cannot understand your reasoning.]

Different from when it was Yeodong-bin, he looked openly uncomfortable.

“Aren’t you also an Apostle? You need that power.”

[It’s not difficult to accept that offer, but I need to know the reason. I won’t be able to accept it if it means abusing my power for selfish ends.]

“The Sea God is dead and his power is crumbling, so the otherworldly races will grow stronger. That chaos might be even greater than when you roamed during the Yuan dynasty. Therefore, I need a strong ally I can call upon immediately, rather than other blessings.”

[I will hold a meeting in the Celestial Realm for a moment.]

After a prolonged silence, the Great Immortal nodded. [I will accept your request.]

“Thank you.”

Swoosh! The soul of the Great Immortal seemed to be sucked into my right hand. This meant that, akin to Yeodong-bin, a connection had now been established; moving forward, he could descend upon me. Feeling that my plan with Mangnyang had succeeded halfway, I let out a sigh of relief.

‘It’s a success.’

But the ritual wasn’t over yet. I realized that the energy flowing through the altar was still present and cautiously called out to Mangnyang.

“…Are you okay?”

“Huff… Huff…” Mangnyang was drenched in sweat, as if he were on fire from a severe fever. It was expected after receiving several Great Immortal’s energies continuously, just like Cheon Woo-jin used to do during his spirit summoning ceremony. However, Mangnyang looked even more haggard than Cheon Woo-jin back then, and his skin was red and hot, teetering on the edge of life and death.

Cough! Mangnyang coughed up blood. Gasping, he said, “This was… expected… and something I have to endure… Don’t worry… Go to Jinrang Valley… quickly…”

“Got it.”

Cheon Woo-jin, who had been observing, suddenly bit down hard on his lip and said, “Older brother, that was truly foolish and reckless!”

“Ha… Priest… Are you concerned for me?”

“What you did is an act that everyone in the world of Taoists would consider a suicide mission. You could have attempted the entrance exam in a year or two without risking yourself. Why take such a foolish challenge?”

Mangnyang forced a smile. “…Because there’s no guarantee that either I or Baek Woong will be around in a year or two… I need to become strong as quickly as possible.”

“……!!”

“Priest… let’s reunite when we are both alive…”

Crack! I took Mangnyang to Jinrang Valley’s Bamboo Grove. I laid him on a flat stone. As he laid down, the fever that had been boiling started to subside gradually, and he looked more comfortable than moments ago.

“This place has the most concentrated Qi of Jinrang Valley. If you manage your energy here, you should survive.”

“Are you really going to be okay?”

“Hmm… Truthfully, the chances are fifty-fifty, but I’ll leave it up to the heavens.” Mangnyang smiled despite his headache. “To get stronger, I have no choice but to utilize the fever…”

That’s right. One of the main reasons for executing this plan was the fever. Receiving the summoning of multiple Great Immortals in succession would linger with powerful energy in the body that would be harmful, which was called fever. When the fever rises, normally, humans would die, but if one withstands the fever, the magician’s energy amplifies, making them even stronger.

Since Mangnyang had seen how strong Cheon Woo-jin became after enduring the fever, he orchestrated this ritual, accepting the risks. However, compared to Cheon Woo-jin, Mangnyang’s strength was far weaker, and unlike Cheon Woo-jin, he could die from the fever, making this a gamble on his part.

Worried, I looked at Mangnyang. He said, “You don’t have anything more to do here… Don’t worry about me and go back to… hope for help from the new Great Immortal.”

“Understood.” I returned to Jangryeong Valley, hoping for Mangnyang’s recovery. I informed the Zhuge Clan that the ritual had been successfully completed. Zhuge Sa frowned.

“So the Primordial Void Ruler rejected the request for the recovery of the Fire Dragon Incarnate?”

“That’s right.”

“That’s strange.”

Zhuge Sa furrowed his brows. “From the perspective of the Celestial Realm, that’s not a burdening request.”

“I think so too.”

“So they mentioned Emperor Gong Sun Xuanwen’s Divine Temple… I’ll investigate that later. However, did you indeed establish a connection with the Great Immortal?”

I nodded positively as Zhuge Sa said, “There’s a wide area behind Jangryeong Valley. Moving forward, you can train there.”

Since it was brought up, I headed straight there. I called out to the newly connected Great Immortal through the Matrix of Fate in my mind.

[Come forth!]

I could feel the soul of the Great Immortal approaching nearby. I spoke to him. [I will share my martial arts memories with you. Please take a look at this potential!]

[……?]

The Great Immortal looked confused, but when I forcefully recalled my martial arts memories, he soon let out an expression of awe.

[What… on earth is this…?]

[These are potentials derived from your martial arts.]

[Oh…]

The Great Immortal seemed highly intrigued, studying the potentials. After savoring the principles and quality of the martial arts for a while, he said, [Before I ascended, I left my teachings on Wudang Mountain. I created the Seven Great Techniques, but apart from the Cave-Collapsing Sword and Heavenly Contraction Sword, most were lost. Baek Woong, how did you manage to deepen and study the entirety of my martial arts?]

[There were those who preserved your enlightenment. I learned this potential with their help.]

[Hmm…]

As I brushed it off, the Great Immortal expressed his admiration. [Very impressive…]

[In the future, could you teach me about the Seven Great Techniques?]

The Great Immortal responded, [Of course. However, the derived techniques are another form of pure world-class martial skill, so I can’t teach you in detail.]

[Why not?]

[The beings who created the derived techniques are extraordinarily gifted geniuses; they have likely created a new sect that also reaches the Absolute Realm. I cannot explain their potentials in full, O Dharma Protector.]

[…Either way, thank you.]

I smiled and said, [Jang Sam-bong.]

Founder of the Wudang Sect, who ascended in human form as a Great Immortal and an Apostle! He was the one who had blessed me in the past and passed on the knowledge of the Seven Great Techniques! I decided to directly seek his teachings through the connection.

 

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