Chapter 79
A few days had passed since the thunderous commotion at the Training Ground.
Baek-Cheong was holed up in her Abode, spending her days in comfort.
‘Let’s refrain from visiting the Training Ground for a while.’
It was fortunate that her father had let it slide on the spot, but she couldn’t underestimate the Spiritual Perception of a Golden Core Cultivator.
If she happened to be loitering near the Training Ground and even a hint of lightning energy was detected, she might not get away with it this time.
So she quietly stayed in the corner of her room, solely enjoying the Nameless Forum.
Days were spent comfortably lying on her bed, scrolling through the posts on the Nameless Forum.
She would browse the forum until she got sleepy, sleep, wake up and browse again, eat when she was hungry, and then go back to browsing.
She giggled while leaving replies on random posts, and the corners of her mouth never had a chance to drop as she watched the posts still popping up in the aftermath of the Golem Pill Refining.
Enjoying Secluded Forum Browsing from the corner of her room was the very definition of a slacker’s life.
‘Isn’t this the true Dao that a cultivator should pursue?’
At this rate, it felt like she could live like this for a month or two.
.
.
.
Then, one afternoon.
“Young Lady, there is a message from the Guild Master.”
A maidservant’s voice called out from outside the door.
“He said that an esteemed guest had arrived, so you should dress neatly and come out to the Family Head’s Hall.”
“An esteemed guest?”
Baek-Cheong exited the Nameless Forum and sat up.
Soon after, she remembered the condition her uncle had given her in exchange for making the golems.
Behave politely to a special guest who would be visiting soon.
“Ah, the special guest is here.”
She guessed it was a guest who hadn’t been able to attend the banquet.
It must be a dignitary on par with a Great Sect or the Myriad Phenomena Pavilion at the very least.
She figured she just needed to offer her greetings once and slip away.
With the quick help of the maidservants, she dressed in a neat Daoist robe.
Her tangled hair was combed out, giving her a tidy appearance.
Soon, as she headed toward the Family Head’s Hall, she grew slightly curious about the esteemed guest’s identity.
‘Surely another Nascent Soul Great Cultivator wouldn’t be visiting, right?’
She had already seen three Nascent Soul Great Cultivators at the banquet.
She had exhausted herself trying to act demure back then, too.
“Well, whoever it is, I just need to greet them properly.”
She arrived at the Family Head’s Hall with a light heart.
As she climbed the stairs and reached the doors of the Inner Hall, voices leaked out from inside.
Her father, her uncle, and one unfamiliar voice.
No, for some reason, a familiar voice could be heard.
“Is it someone I know?”
Feeling puzzled, Baek-Cheong opened the door and stepped inside.
Her father and uncle were seated at the table in the Inner Hall.
And sitting on a chair opposite them, with his back turned, was the guest.
Dressed in a shabby Daoist robe.
The back of a mortal is something you might run into anywhere.
‘No way, it can’t be…’
Feeling a sense of déjà vu, she naturally slowed her footsteps.
All she could see was an ordinary back wearing an old robe.
But she had definitely seen it somewhere before.
“The Pacheon Sword Saint…?”
Goosebumps erupted all over Baek-Cheong’s body as she realized his identity.
And she took a step back, as if trying to escape the spot.
One step, two steps.
But the conversation abruptly cut off as her father and uncle spotted her.
The guest in the shabby robe slowly turned his head.
“It really is the Pacheon Sword Saint!”
The moment she made eye contact with the Pacheon Sword Saint, her legs almost gave out.
The terrifying figure who had nearly dragged her away as a Disciple when they met in Yeonha Immortal City was sitting right in the middle of the Family Head’s Hall.
“Uuuuunnncle!!!”
Baek-Cheong was horrified, a scream rising up inside her.
But outwardly, she didn’t show a single hint of it.
She maintained the calm and collected demeanor she had polished in her daily life.
Except for the cold sweat running down her spine.
“Young Lady Baek-Cheong has come to see father and uncle. I also offer my greetings to the Pacheon Sword Saint.”
She bowed deeply and squeezed out the most polite voice she could muster.
The image of a demure and well-mannered Youngest daughter.
Only the heavens knew that her insides were boiling over.
However, the Pacheon Sword Saint did not return her greeting.
He neither nodded nor opened his mouth.
He merely stared piercingly at Baek-Cheong in silence.
It was surely only a brief moment, but the time of silence felt like eons.
‘Why isn’t he saying anything…’
Even at the Baeksang Pavilion, he had only barely opened his mouth after scrutinizing her for a long time.
A fleeting moment of silence passed.
“Oho-ra.”
A short exclamation flowed from the Pacheon Sword Saint’s mouth.
It was a dry voice, yet laden with a deep marvel.
“Huh?”
Baek-Cheong managed her expression while gauging the atmosphere.
She had heard a similar exclamation at the Baeksang Pavilion last time.
But this exclamation had one more syllable than last time.
“Why is it Oho-ra instead of Oho!”
An unwarranted sense of anxiety washed over her, to the point where her back was getting damp with cold sweat.
Whether it meant something good or bad, it was clearly an extraordinary change.
“Cheong-A, come here.”
Her uncle was gesturing for her to approach with a benevolent look.
She reflexively looked back at her father.
She put all her effort into her eyes, making the most pitiful expression possible.
The only person here who could save her.
However, her father averted his gaze.
He didn’t say a word, his face filled with an apologetic look.
“They were in cahoots!”
Baek-Cheong’s vision went dark for a moment.
In the end, she stepped forward one pace at a time, as if being dragged.
The distance of barely ten steps felt as long as ten thousand miles.
When she finally drew near, her uncle showed a satisfied smile.
“Uncle - no, this man must have orchestrated this.”
Nine times out of ten, her uncle had used her as bait to call the Pacheon Sword Saint here.
It was obvious to receive the protection of the Heavenly Sword Sect.
If that happened, the Yeonha Baek Clan would secure a position that even the Demonic Faction would find troublesome to mess with.
“Just you wait.”
Baek-Cheong inwardly ground her teeth at her uncle.
She steeled her resolve, vowing to definitely show him how much of a grudge she could hold.
But for now, she had to endure it.
She swallowed her anger and fixed her expression.
With her head slightly bowed, she approached until she was right in front of them.
“What a truly unique child.”
At that, the Pacheon Sword Saint stroked his beard and broke the silence.
“To think that Sword Intent has moved beyond the mind and taken root in the body as well.”
Baek-Cheong tilted her head at the incomprehensible words.
Before long, she realized he was talking about how she had broken through her bottleneck using the Falling Star Style.
Just as she was feeling anxious about exactly how deeply he was seeing through her.
Her uncle interjected, as if he had been waiting for this.
“Sword Saint.”
Baek Mu-Yeong displayed the practiced composure of a Guild Master.
“Cheong-Yi’s comprehension and aptitude are truly extraordinary. She is a prodigy who naturally masters any art she touches, be it Pill Refining, Talisman Crafting, or the Puppetry Art. She possesses the Innate Talent to make anything her own after seeing it just once.”
Baek Mu-Yeong rattled off his Niece’s talents as if showing them off.
It sounded like praise, but the hidden meaning was obvious at a glance.
Would you, Sword Saint, really leave such an outstanding child be?
It was bait, practically shoved in front of the Sword Saint who wandered the Continent in search of a Disciple.
Baek-Cheong also caught on to her uncle’s underlying intentions.
“I am still full of shortcomings.”
She was bowing her head and uttering words of humility.
She stealthily glared at her uncle.
Baek Mu-Yeong didn’t bat an eye.
Instead, he maintained a nonchalant smile while observing the Pacheon Sword Saint’s reaction.
The Pacheon Sword Saint did not immediately respond to her uncle’s words.
His gaze remained fixed on Baek-Cheong.
A long while passed.
“Certainly.”
The Pacheon Sword Saint opened his mouth, as if taking his time.
“Even among all the children I have seen thus far, she is a hundred times better.”
“A hundred times?!”
Baek-Cheong was inwardly dumbfounded by the changed evaluation of herself.
Last time, he had said she had too many distracting thoughts, that she could never reach the pinnacle of the sword, and that she was unsuited to be a Sword Cultivator, making her unfit to be his Disciple.
“Am I going to get taken as a Disciple just like this?”
The sight of her Forum Browsing Life shattering into pieces flashed before her eyes.
If she were dragged off to the Heavenly Sword Sect, the Nameless Forum would be out of the question.
A hell where she would have to hold a sword, think only of the sword, and polish her sword all day long.
“What do I do, what do I do, what do I do.”
She racked her brain for a way out, trying to come up with excuses.
That she had learned many arts because she had too many interests, that she was still overflowing with distracting thoughts, or that she genuinely had no interest in the sword.
Suddenly, the Pacheon Sword Saint shifted his gaze.
He looked back and forth between Baek Mu-Jin and Baek Mu-Yeong.
“I have something I wish to ask this child. Would the Clan Head and the Guild Master step out for a moment?”
“We shall.”
Baek Mu-Yeong answered readily and stood up from his chair.
Then he subtly grabbed the arm of his elder brother, who had frozen like a stone.
“Elder brother, let us wait outside for a moment.”
Baek Mu-Jin ultimately followed his younger brother’s lead, but his heart felt like it was tearing apart.
To use his precious daughter for political gain instead of protecting her, he felt his feet refuse to move easily.
Even as he was forcefully dragged out, he looked back at his daughter once, out of guilt.
But upon meeting his daughter’s trembling gaze, he had no choice but to turn his head away.
In the end, only the Pacheon Sword Saint and Baek-Cheong were left inside the Inner Hall.
Amidst the awkward atmosphere, it was the Pacheon Sword Saint who spoke first.
“Much has changed in a short time.”
Baek-Cheong kept her head slightly bowed and gauged his mood.
What was the meaning behind the Pacheon Sword Saint’s words?
What was it that he wanted to ask?
But she couldn’t read anything from him.
“Even if you have many distracting thoughts, you possess an Upright Cultivation Grand Dao. In that regard, you lack nothing to become a Sword Cultivator.”