Chapter 113
“Uncle, Eldest Brother, I offer my greetings.”
“Come here and sit.”
Baek Mu-Yeong gestured to the Seat next to him with a brief remark.
A faint hint of displeasure lingered in his gaze as he quietly observed Baek-Cheong.
Baek Gyu sat next to him with a stiff expression.
He gave off a different feeling from the affectionate Eldest Brother who used to dote on her at the Main Family.
Jin-Wi awkwardly shifted his gaze and quietly retreated to his own Seat.
Baek-Cheong swallowed a small sigh inwardly, politely adjusting her robes as she sat down.
“Cheong-A.”
“Yes, uncle.”
“When we left the Main Family, didn’t you promise to listen to your uncle?”
“…Yes.”
Baek-Cheong slightly lowered her gaze and gave a small nod.
Her Eldest Brother, who normally would have looked at his younger sister with a pleased smile, kept his mouth firmly shut.
She quietly retraced her steps in her mind to see what she had done and where.
Even just by thinking about it, there were many instances.
“While your uncle was away exchanging greetings elsewhere, there wasn’t a single Skill Peak in the Biun Sect where your name wasn’t mentioned.”
“That’s…”
“I hear rumors that you humiliated the Alchemists in front of everyone at Pill Refining Peak.”
“…”
Baek-Cheong held back her words and could only swallow a small sigh inwardly.
[No, I just told them because they couldn’t do it…]
At Dan-Jeong-Ru on Pill Refining Peak, Dan-Gyeong had been using Fire Control that went against the natural flow of the medicinal herbs, so she had merely let slip a single comment.
The situation was similar elsewhere.
She simply couldn’t stand by and watch precious medicinal ingredients turn to ash inside the Pill Furnace.
[I just demonstrated exactly what grandfather Yak-seon taught me…]
She wondered if she should have considered the fact that the Alchemists held immense pride in their Pill Refining, but the frustration she saw before her eyes was far too great to weigh such things.
“Rumors have spread throughout the Biun Sect that the talisman masters of Yunpil Hall at Je-bu-bong Peak had their dao hearts shaken by you.”
“…”
Baek-Cheong awkwardly shifted her gaze and lightly touched her hair.
[But it was too easy.]
From her perspective, she couldn’t understand how drawing a single 2nd-Tier Talisman had somehow become such a huge deal.
Drawing a talisman was far easier compared to drawing Formation Glyphs, and she had merely copied Talisman Master Yeon’s demonstration exactly.
She hadn’t even imagined that the talisman masters wouldn’t be able to do even that.
[Aren’t they all talisman masters? I thought talisman masters would at least be able to draw that much…]
It was an inner thought she absolutely couldn’t say out loud, so she kept it tightly sealed away.
“At Jinmunbong Peak…”
“Nothing happened at Jinmunbong Peak.”
“Right, I only heard that you went around looking at the Formations of the Formation masters at Jinmunbong Peak. Somehow, it seems you didn’t cause any trouble there.”
Baek-Cheong let out a small sigh of relief inwardly.
She had been relatively well-behaved at Jinmunbong Peak.
It was thanks to her being careful not to reveal anything after realizing that the Formation Glyphs were only visible to her eyes.
[I was well-behaved at Jinmunbong Peak.]
Of course, if one included the fact that she had been stealing glances at the floating Formation Glyphs all over the Peak and diligently storing knowledge about Formations in her head, it was hard to say she had just quietly walked around.
But outwardly, she had merely taken a slow look around the Peak by Jin-Wi’s side, so no trouble occurred.
“And yesterday at Yeon-gi Peak…”
“Yes?”
Baek-Cheong slightly raised her head, looking genuinely surprised.
As for Yeon-gi Peak, she had only browsed the stalls before leaving with a sour feeling.
She hadn’t touched the artificers' handiwork, and she had simply passed by every soliciting Stall without much of a response.
“I heard a rumor that at Yeon-gi Peak, you even made a promise to compete against a Scion of the Hosan Seo Clan in the Martial Arts Competition.”
“…”
[No, they were the ones who threw down the gauntlet!]
A single shout erupted inside Baek-Cheong, but she couldn’t bring herself to say it out loud.
It was a situation where Seo Ju-A had unilaterally issued a challenge, and she had simply accepted it willingly, thinking it was a good opportunity.
[I really didn’t do anything…]
It was incredibly unfair that she was being seen as the one who had caused a scene.
“Uncle, that was…”
“Your uncle also has a guess as to how the rumors circulated. But there are some things you shouldn’t agree to so hastily.”
“…”
Baek-Cheong had no choice but to swallow her excuses tightly inside.
Baek Mu-Yeong quietly observed Baek-Cheong for a long time before letting out a small sigh.
Fiddling with his cup, he gradually withdrew the displeasure lacing his voice.
“If it were in the past, this would have caused no small amount of trouble for the Yeonha Baek Clan.”
“…”
“Fortunately, thanks to the Yeonha Baek Clan’s prestige soaring even higher after the Millennial Plan, the rumors are merely passing off as the impudence of a commendable Young Dao Friend.”
Baek-Cheong slightly bowed her head and let out a small voice.
“I’m sorry…”
“Your uncle isn’t just reprimanding you; I merely wanted to point out the things that almost caused trouble. That way, you can learn to be prudent, and my elder brother can rest easy. The reason we went out of our way to bring you to the Biun Sect’s New Year’s Banquet was so you could build connections as a member of the Yeonha Baek Clan, so don’t hate this uncle too much.”
Baek Mu-Yeong wore a faint smile and lightly patted his Niece’s shoulder.
Above all, whatever happened in the Biun Sect wouldn’t even be an issue, since it was known that Baek-Cheong was the Inheritor Disciple of the Pacheon Sword Saint.
[Is the nagging over?]
Baek-Cheong stealthily raised her head, trying to catch her breath.
It felt like her uncle’s nagging had finished completely.
But then, she ended up making direct eye contact with her Eldest Brother, who was sitting.
“Eldest Brother…”
Baek Gyu was quietly looking down at Baek-Cheong with his mouth shut.
The affectionate demeanor she usually saw was nowhere to be found.
Instead, he looked even more serious than when he carried the dignity of a True Disciple.
“Cheong-A.”
“Yes…”
“When I guided you through the New Spring Exchange Gathering, have you forgotten how I warned you against the Martial Arts Competition?”
“…”
“Your brother clearly told you. Even though the Martial Arts Competition is a place to compare skills among peers of the same realm, injuries happen, so it’s not a place to be taken lightly.”
Baek-Cheong slightly bowed her head, looking despondent.
“Rough individuals among the Rogue cultivators join in; there are more than a few who have cultivated their way up from Our Sect’s Outer Sect, and quite a few from the Inner Sect who have learned secret arts also participate.”
Baek Gyu paused for a moment and quietly examined his sister’s face.
His tone was calm and quiet as usual, but it was mixed with worry for his younger sister.
“How could you step into such a place?”
“…”
“How heartbroken do you think mother and father would be if they heard about this?”
[That is very true…]
Baek-Cheong felt a pang in her small chest at the mention of her parents.
She remembered how mother had adjusted her collar and had told her to have a safe trip when she left the Main Family.
Father had also urged her to behave well and take care of herself since her Eldest Brother was waiting for her.
[I suppose I did end up breaking their words…]
Every single thing her Eldest Brother said was absolutely correct.
[I can’t even argue back.]
Baek-Cheong didn’t even feel the slightest bit of rebelliousness.
Normally, she would have rolled around one or two excuses in her head to somehow slip away, but her Eldest Brother’s nagging was so right that she couldn’t even think of an excuse.
She obediently kept her head bowed and quietly took the scolding.
“…Enough.”
Baek Gyu continued speaking for a while before letting out a small sigh.
Seeing his sister just quietly keeping her head bowed without any particular rebuttal to his nagging actually made him feel sorry for her.
She had already received her participation token from the Outer Sect Elder.
It wasn’t something that could be undone, so rebuking his sister would only make her heart heavy.
“It’s spilled water anyway.”
Baek Gyu’s voice softened considerably as he stroked Baek-Cheong’s head.
“Since you’ve already received the participation token, do your best in the Martial Arts Competition. However, you must absolutely not get hurt.”
“Yes!”
Baek-Cheong nodded vigorously at her Eldest Brother’s suddenly softened voice.
The affectionate Eldest Brother had returned exactly as he was with the Main Family.
Motivation surged within Baek-Cheong once again.
“Eldest Brother, I’ll definitely make it to the main tournament!”
She confidently declared, raising her head.
Just reaching the main tournament would grant her the qualification to step into the Cloud Sea Secret Realm.
However, Baek Gyu quietly looked down at his sister for a moment before shaking his head.
“Cheong-A, the main tournament is not such an easy place.”
“Pardon?”
“In the Qi Condensation Group alone, combining Our Sect and External Guests, nearly a thousand prodigies have gathered. Out of them, there are only sixteen spots to advance to the main tournament.”
Baek-Cheong blinked once at the unimaginable news.
Even the dozens of Scions her age she saw at the Main Family were a considerable scale, but a thousand was a staggering number, hard to even fathom with the eyes.
Moreover, if there were only sixteen among them, it meant roughly one in sixty would advance to the main tournament.
[It’s tougher than I thought.]
However, she didn’t think there would be any cultivator in the Qi Condensation Stage more outstanding than her.
[Ah well, I should still be able to make it to the main tournament at least.]
Rather, the number of a thousand allowed her to gauge just how many Prodigies had flocked in from the outside.
It was proof of just how outstanding the value of the Cloud Sea Secret Realm was.
[Honestly, it’s worth aiming for Top Ranker too.]
Just as she was about to nod vigorously and show her confidence to her Eldest Brother.
Suddenly, a pressure strong enough to crush the Plaza erupted from somewhere.
The sound of Cultivators conversing died down naturally, and even the External Guests seated in the Seats of Honor put down their cups and shifted their gazes somewhere.
“What is this…”
Baek-Cheong looked around at the sudden overwhelming pressure.
Then, her Eldest Brother wore a small smile on his calm face.
“Don’t worry, the opening ceremony is starting.”
“The opening ceremony?”
“The Sect Master is personally opening the ceremony.”
Baek Gyu, with a voice full of pride, shifted his gaze toward the Sect Master’s Peak.
Baek-Cheong also turned her head toward the Sect Master’s Peak, following her Eldest Brother’s gaze.
The Sect Master’s Peak, towering in the middle of the Main Sect, looked different from usual.
The clouds that had been floating above the Peak were quietly gathering toward the Sect Master’s Peak from all directions.
At first, it seemed like small clouds were blending together, but then they formed a shape and stretched out long.
“This is…”
Baek-Cheong quietly stared at the Sect Master’s Peak with her mouth slightly open.
The shape formed by the gathered clouds was a massive dragon.
It was long enough to wrap around the Peak from head to tail, and its two horns stretched far above the Sect Master’s Peak.
An ethereal light shimmered on every scale, and clouds continuously billowed beneath its four feet.
The massive Cloud Dragon exuded an overwhelming pressure that dominated the entirety of Jaundae just by existing.
[So this is the Nascent Soul…]
It was impossible to even fathom the fact that such a massive form could be shaped from clouds.
She had often heard stories among the Family members of the Main Family about the might of a Nascent Soul Great Cultivator, but this was her first time directly facing a fragment of it.
After all, the Pacheon Sword Saint, far from revealing a fragment of his power, completely concealed his aura despite being a cultivator, never showing it.
Before long, the Cloud Dragon slowly moved its body above the Sect Master’s Peak.
When it passed over Pill Refining Peak, the spirit herbs all over the Peak swayed with a vibrant green all at once; when it passed over Je-bu-bong Peak, the talisman patterns briefly held a bright light; above Jinmunbong Peak, the Formation Glyphs heightened their presence and revealed Formations; and above Yeon-gi Peak, a spectacle unfolded where the spiritual energy in every brazier boiled over simultaneously.
It looked as if it were roaming around, wrapping around each and every Peak as if sprinkling spiritual energy upon them.
[What is it trying to do?]
Soon, the Cloud Dragon returned to the Sect Master’s Peak and raised its head.
It slowly began to soar toward the sky as if ascending, and then let out an ethereal cry in the middle of the sky.
Following that, auspicious spiritual energy gently scattered like rain over the entirety of Cloud Mountain.
Even above Jaundae, which was filled with people, the spiritual energy softly descended, and an ethereal light briefly shimmered on the robes of every cultivator.
“Wow…”
An exclamation naturally slipped from Baek-Cheong’s lips.
It was a sight she had never seen in her entire life, and it felt wondrous that such auspiciousness was descending upon her own head.
Every time the spiritual energy touched her body, a deep sense of fulfillment settled in.
Before long, as the Cloud Dragon hid its form beyond the sky, a calm voice echoed across Jaundae.
[This is a place for young juniors to display the skills they have honed.]
All the cultivators filling Jaundae bowed their heads deeply and paid their respects politely.
[To the juniors who advance to the main tournament of this New Spring Exchange Gathering’s Martial Arts Competition, I shall allow you to bring out one additional item of your choice from the Cloud Sea Secret Realm.]
Just the qualification to step into the Cloud Sea Secret Realm was a considerable reward, but the words that they would be allowed to bring out one more item of their choice were nothing short of a shock.
[So this is the generosity of a Great Sect…!]
Baek-Cheong couldn’t hide her surprise at the tremendous reward, even if she didn’t know exactly what it entailed.
The cultivators also let out short groans and exchanged glances, and the shock was so great that even the cultivators seated in the Seats of Honor couldn’t put down the cups in their hands for a long time.
Therefore, it was nine times out of ten certain to be something good.
[I’m absolutely making it to the main tournament, no matter what.]
If she held back in this situation and failed to reach the main tournament, it would be a disaster.
So, she intended to go all out within the limits of what she could reveal.