Chapter 33. Nanman Beast Gate (1/2)
Chapter 33. Nanman Beast Gate
Jo Gi Chun frowned as he tried to lift himself from the bed.
He couldn’t feel anything in his right arm. From the shoulder to the finger. It felt like there was a useless lump of meat stuck to his shoulder.
Jo Gi Chun retraced his memories as he massaged his right arm.
‘An Imugi…….’
According to his knowledge, there was no way for a living being to live inside a formation.
As a formation was a space created by man, the space inside it was extremely unstable. It wasn’t a place where a creature could live inside for a long period of time.
But…
There was one exception.
‘I need to confirm that.’
He had a reason to go back into the formation.
The right arm that had been taken by that guy. That act gave Jo Gi Chun some hope. If what he thought was right, he should be able to get his arm back.
Jo Gi Chun lifted his stumbling body, and leaned against the bed. And he soon made a confused face, as he didn’t understand what was going on.
‘It’s too quiet.’
From the beginning, this place wasn’t a very noisy spot, but it wasn’t as quiet as this before.
When he stepped outside, he couldn’t see a single person around. This was getting suspicious. Jo Gi Chun quickly walked over to the Building of Righteous Gathering. Thankfully, there was a person there.
“Is it alright if I ask you a question?”
A thin, middle aged man who had been inspecting documents previously, saw Jo Gi Chun and blinked a few times. Soon, the man began to get suspicious of Jo Gi Chun.
“Who are you, and why are you here?”
Jo Gi Chun made a troubled face when the middle aged man became alert towards him. How should he explain this?
After thinking a bit, Jo Gi Chun remembered the necklace he received from Gongson Chun Gi. The necklace shaped like a flame. Gongson Chun Gi told him to use it whenever he needed the church’s help.
“Do you know what this is?”
Once Jo Gi Chun handed the man his necklace, the man’s eyes widened. The man thought about something for a moment, then stood up and bowed respectfully towards Gongson Chun Gi.
“Is there a problem?”
It seems the necklace worked. Jo Gi Chun put the necklace back in his pocket, then opened his mouth.
“I have a question.”
“I will answer it to the best of my ability.”
“I can’t find anyone here, did something happen?”
The middle aged man calmly spoke.
“His Holiness went to the Wisdom Plains today.”
“The Wisdom Plains!”
Jo Gi Chun finally realized why there wasn’t anyone here.
The battle between the Heavenly Demon Church and the Alliance. This battle was to take place at the Wisdom Plains.
‘So it was today.’
Jo Gi Chun began to feel a bit uncomfortable the moment he realized that. That was because he thought of something ominous.
“W.. What happened to Ryu Hyang?”
The middle aged man thought for a second, then quickly responded.
“Could you be talking about Lord Cho Ryu Hyang?”
“Yes.”
“The young lord went out to the Black Skull Mountain this morning.”
The Black Skull Mountain. Ak Jung Pae’s grave was there.
Once Jo Gi Chun realized this fact, his face turned pale. The ominous feeling he had from earlier. That feeling seemed to be caused because of this.
“How long has it been since the boy went up the mountain?”
The middle aged man became a little surprised when Jo Gi Chun began acting this urgently.
“H.. He went out after breakfast, so about half a day has passed…….
Is there a problem?”
Jo Gi Chun wasn’t listening any more. He was already dragging his old, tired body towards the Black Skull mountain as fast as he could.
* * *
[I want to be a dragon.]
An expected wish. The Imugi, who was looking down upon Cho Ryu Hyang, had a sort of a desperate look on its face.
[Little human, do you think you can you fulfill my wish?]
Dokun–
The thunder like heartbeat that was ringing in Cho Ryu Hyang’s ear since a while back.
It wasn’t his heartbeat. The sound was coming from the Imugi’s heart.
[Don’t be scared, greenhorn.]
Don’t be scared? How can he not be scared in front of this giant, tyrannical being? It would be weird if he was actually calm.
[A real dragon is much bigger than this fellow. This guy is cute when compared to a dragon. ]
When Cho Ryu Hyang heard the old man’s words, he smiled. What an unamusing joke the old man was making.
But it seemed that the joke calmed Cho Ryu Hyang down a little. He let go of his chest, and opened his mouth cautiously.
“What should I do for you?”
The promise that Zhuge Liang made a thousand years ago. Cho Ryu Hyang was tasked with fulfilling that promise.
If one thought about it, Cho Ryu Hyang’s first teacher was Zhuge Liang, not Jo Gi Chun. He learned about the Faultless view from Zhuge Liang, and acquired immense knowledge of mathematics. Because of this, Cho Ryu Hyang was actually thankful that he got the chance to repay the old man. This wish, therefore, was one that Cho Ryu Hyang could not afford to decline.
The Imugi slowly opened its mouth while looking at Cho Ryu Hyang.
[In order to become a dragon and ascend, one needs a Dragon Ball.]
Cho Ryu Hyang nodded when the Imugi said that.
That’s right. If you thought about it, every single one of the stories that has dragons never failed to mention a Dragon Ball.
That made everything simple. He just had to make a Dragon Ball out of the Reversed Scale that the Imugi had.
After all, didn’t he have the Seizing Conversion Technique (捉換法)? Cho Ryu Hyang could essentially change the value of objects in this world to his fancy. It was a terrifying technique.
‘But the conditions in order to use it are too harsh…….’
Thankfully, it seemed like the conditions matched perfectly in this situation. He could see a red scale sending light out everywhere in front of his eyes. The Reversed Scale, which lay under the Imugi’s chin. He just had to change the value of the scale, and change it into a Dragon Ball. It shouldn’t be very hard.
When Cho Ryu Hyang walked forward in a relaxed manner, he was stopped by Zhuge Liang’s voice.
[Don’t take this lightly, greenhorn. Do you even know what a Reversed Scale is?]
Cho Ryu Hyang paused.
What was the old man trying to say? Cho Ryu Hyang didn’t exactly know what a Reversed Scale was.