Chapter 176
The banquet celebrating her Foundation Establishment breakthrough had finally arrived.
Yet Baek Cheong, the very star of the banquet, was holed up in her quarters, glued to the Nameless Board.
Normally she would have flopped down on the bed, but today she sat primly in a chair.
She had already finished dressing beautifully with a maid's help, so she couldn't just lie down carelessly and mess up her appearance.
'I should loosen up a little before the banquet.'
It was because she had spent the last half month pinned in front of the alchemy furnace by Yak-seon.
After exhausting herself with alchemy, the urge to browse the forum only grew stronger each time.
It was a thirst that pill refinement alone could never quench.
She moved her divine sense with a straight back, roaming every corner of the Nameless Board.
After roughly clearing out the backlog of notifications, she posted a short message on the chat board.
『Daoist(913.14): Ah, right. I broke through to Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment.』
[Heavenly tribulation was nothing much, lol.]
[Merit 0 / Karma 0]
She had no particular ulterior motive.
She had simply thought of how the Daoists would react, and her divine sense moved on its own.
A Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment was one of the rarest events in the cultivation world, so there was no way it would stay quiet.
Sure enough, replies started pouring in the moment she posted.
[Daoist(11.23): These days even randos are breaking through Heavenly Dao.]
[Daoist(451.0): The Daoist's Heavenly Dao should have seen this sight.]
[Daoist(208.4): Following the Path of Jesus was worth it. Senior, please take in this foolish junior as well!]
[Daoist(331.5): Since the split body has reached Heavenly Dao, it shouldn't be long before it regains its lost true body.]
As she skimmed through the replies, Baek Cheong let out a small laugh.
On one side, there were the familiar snide remarks.
On the other hand, there were also Daoists who had lately been praising her with unusual fervor.
They were Daoists who firmly believed she was the memory-lost split body of a true immortal.
Some time ago, Daoist(55.19) had once theorized that she was the split body of a fallen true immortal.
He claimed that her comprehension was too good for a Foundation Establishment cultivator and that she even had all sorts of spirit-tier pills, so she had to be a split body.
Daoists who had been hooked by that plausible nonsense even invented something called the Path of Jesus and all jumped on board.
Now they were even treating this Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment as a sign that the split body was recovering its true body.
'At this rate, won't they end up birthing a Jesus?'
Still, if anything, it was a relief.
Most Daoists did not believe that absurd hypothesis.
If all of them had just worshipped her, forum-browsing wouldn't have been any fun.
'I could push it further if I wanted to.'
Of course, if she were greedy, she could take it one step further.
She could even spell out some enlightened jahyeong, or recite a few lines of a convincing Grand Cultivation Path.
But if she went that far, there might be more Daoists putting her on a pedestal.
Then it would likely become boring forum-browsing instead of stirring up trouble.
'Moderation is what makes things last.'
Baek Cheong ultimately decided to rein herself in, though she felt a little regretful.
Just as she was trying to pull away from the replies, a familiar Daoist left a comment.
[Daoist(33.3): Huuuh?]
With the recent absence of Jahyeong info posts, he seemed to be getting restless and was sticking even to random posts.
Ever since he had tried to make a move on her through Jinmun Dohae and instead learned Jahyeong, he'd been like this.
'He collapsed after going "Huuuh?" last time too.'
It was an unreadable reply, so she pretended not to see it and moved on.
Then her eyes fell on the number at the head of the post.
[Merit 0 / Karma 0]
A long-buried question suddenly surfaced.
'But if I receive merit, how do I even know?'
Since the thought had come to her, she pulled up the posts she'd made before one by one.
They were info posts she had painstakingly written so she could browse the forum like a proper person.
If someone had read them and been deeply moved, they might have clicked merit once.
Yet no matter how hard she searched, the merit count remained stubbornly at 0.
'Not a single one got pressed.'
The number did not budge at all, making her careful efforts feel meaningless.
Still, she told herself it probably wasn't a complete waste.
After all, those were carefully written posts, so they must have influenced someone.
If they had influenced someone, Dao marks should have accumulated too, shouldn't they?
'But how would I know whether Dao marks are accumulating?'
As she thought that far, Baek Cheong frowned.
Dao marks didn't even appear as a number like merit or karma.
There was no way to tell whether they were piling up or going down, so she couldn't help feeling frustrated.
'Are they even piling up at all?'
Since she had safely gotten through even a karma-laden Heavenly Tribulation, there was no need to rush.
It was just that the effort she'd put into being a good forum-goer all this time felt deflating.
She was lost in such trivial curiosity when...
A cautious maid's voice came from outside her quarters.
"Miss, all the banquet preparations are finished. The clan head says to come."
Baek Cheong reluctantly left the Nameless Board and rose from her chair.
There was no need to tidy her appearance the way she usually would.
Thanks to having finished dressing early, she left her quarters still looking lovely.
Following the maid, she headed for the banquet hall.
***
Baek Cheong entered the banquet hall and gaped.
The sight before her was astonishing.
The spacious hall was packed with seats, and rare delicacies filled it to the brim.
Servants prepared to welcome honored guests hurried busily back and forth.
'It's almost as big as that time, isn't it?'
She thought of the celebration feast her father had held when he broke through to Gold Core.
Compared with the banquet from back when the clan had been in an uproar, this scale was no smaller.
A banquet this grand for nothing more than a Foundation Establishment breakthrough didn't make sense.
'Why go this far over Foundation Establishment?'
Baek Cheong blinked in bewilderment and looked around.
Just then, her uncle caught her eye as he was checking the seats in one corner of the banquet hall.
She hurried over on small steps and greeted him.
"Uncle."
"Oh, Cheong. You look very lovely all dressed up."
Baek Mu-yeong greeted Baek Cheong with satisfaction.
As soon as she returned the greeting, Baek Cheong widened her eyes and let her question spill out first.
"But why is the banquet so huge?"
"Exactly."
Baek Mu-yeong scratched the back of his head awkwardly.
"Originally, I was only going to hold it at about half this size. But when we sent out invitations as a courtesy, every clan and sect—and even famous recluses—sent word that they would all attend. There was no choice but to expand the seating this much."
Every place that received an invitation had replied that they would attend without exception.
'Pfft, like some big shot would really come?'
Baek Cheong brushed it off without a care.
On reflection, it wasn't all that surprising.
She figured it was thanks to the Yeonha Baek Clan's status having risen sharply lately.
With the clan's standing going up, she assumed other powers had simply sent a few people to round things out.
'As long as the big shots don't come, that's good for me.'
In truth, this was far more welcome to her.
If there were no heavyweight guests, she wouldn't have to watch herself the whole banquet.
She could sit quietly, act demure, and secretly enjoy the Nameless Board.
'I just need to look like I'm keeping my seat while I browse the forum to my heart's content.'
Just thinking about it made her feel pleased.
Before long, she was led to her assigned seat and sat down.
But the moment she sat, something felt different from usual.
For some reason, a maid stayed glued right behind her to wait on her.
With someone standing guard behind her, she couldn't even think of sneaking around the Nameless Board.
'What is this? Why are you behind me?'
Baek Cheong tilted her head, not understanding.
Then, even before the banquet had begun, guests started gathering one by one.
But the bearing of those who entered was anything but ordinary.
Several factions arrived with Gold Core cultivators leading the way.
Each one took the proper seat while cloaked in a thick aura.
A Gold Core cultivator was a level where one could act as the elder of a faction.
Seeing such figures appear one after another, she swallowed hard.
'Why are there so many Gold Core cultivators...?'
Then came the moment certain guests stepped into the banquet hall.
The air in the hall stirred ever so slightly.
A presence of a completely different level from the earlier Gold Core cultivators gently flowed out.
It was deep and boundless, impossible to gauge.
'Don't tell me that's...'
Just then, the maid behind her whispered carefully.
"They are Nascent Soul grand cultivators."
The maid then quietly told her the identities of the two.
"The one in the blue robe is True Person Zaha of the Cheongram Sect, and the one standing beside him is Old Ancestor Mokun of the Baeyeol Sect."
There were two sect masters in person.
That left Baek Cheong utterly stunned.
Nascent Soul was a realm of grand cultivators whom cultivators in the lower realms revered above all else.
For two such big shots to attend a mere Foundation Establishment celebration was absurd.
'No, what is this...'
Her plan to enjoy forum-browsing at the banquet shattered to pieces.
Right from the start, there were already two Nascent Soul grand cultivators.
At this rate, she couldn't even guess how much grander the banquet would become from here on out.
'If this keeps up...'
It might end up more spectacular than her father's Gold Core breakthrough celebration.
Baek Cheong stared blankly at the guests gathering in droves, her face going pale.