Chapter 751: The Scenery of Home (1)

We walked down the path under the guidance of the monks of Myoyangsa.

A road winding down along the cliff.

“Isn’t it about time you told us?”

“Mm?”

When we had almost finished descending that road, Shin Jong opened his mouth.

“The reason you decided to visit our martial hall, I mean.”

“......Ahh.”

At those words.

I answered with a gentle attitude.

“Don’t worry too much. I have no intention of harming you.”

“......Well, we don’t think you seem like a bad person either. I’m not saying I doubt your intentions, but I’d still like to hear what you’re planning to do when we get there. To us, it’s the last homeland we have left, but to everyone except us, it’s a place that means nothing, isn’t it?”

“As for what I’m going to do.......”

I scratched my head and said.

“It’s not that I don’t want to explain...... should I say nothing has been decided?”

“Nothing has been decided?”

Yeah.

I had come all the way here too, but.

That did not mean I had come because there was some clear thing I had decided to do.

'Given the situation, I came with the feeling that I should try anything I can.'

With those words.

I moved my feet into the gate.

[You have entered Gate - Cheonsan Martial Hall.]

[This is a martial hall that was located in the steepest and highest mountain range of a world that has now been destroyed.]

[The mountain range, so high it was hidden by clouds, was the closest place to the heavens among all lands where one could set foot, so Cheonsan was also regarded as a ritual site for communicating with heaven.]

[Unfortunately, now that even that heaven has collapsed, that has become past tense!]

We entered the gate.

A world that had clearly once prospered.

But had now been destroyed.

And even while undergoing such destruction.

A space that had broken away from the dying world.

And come to drift through that universe.

And.

I looked toward the highest point of that Cheonsan Martial Hall.

At the pavilion located there.

“If you ask what I’m going to do, there’s only one answer I can give right now.”

......No, to be precise.

[Combat Power Meter]

What was flowing out from there.

A huge and brilliant.......

“I’m trying to find out what I can do.”

I looked at the violet energy.

***

“It really has been a long time since I came here.”

“It has indeed.”

When we entered the gate.

Seohwan and Miho spoke while looking around.

“......The scenery beyond there still feels a little unfamiliar, though.”

Miho looked at the stars spread beyond the sky and the cliff.

But.

She soon shook her head and set her eyes on the surrounding pavilions.

“Still, those pavilions are just as they were.”

Eyes filled with longing.

They were people who had lost their world.

For now, they were relying on the Legion and staying together with them.

But most of the Legion’s facilities were practical structures based on modern things, with all sorts of otherworldly technologies mixed in.

They had none of the special feeling unique to this place, lined with wooden pavilions.

It seemed they were simply happy to have returned to a place that gave them the feeling of home.

“By the way, where are Jeochil and Senior Brother Woojin?”

“We came without any contact, so would they not be resting somewhere? Given that child Jeochil’s personality, he is probably napping somewhere. Let us take a look around the martial hall.”

While they were looking at the pavilions like that.

They spoke while looking around.

Then.

“That is too harsh on Junior Brother Jeochil, Senior Sister Miho.”

The man with dog ears.

Gyeonsul said with a smile.

“Those two have a duty assigned to them right now. They are probably elsewhere.”

“Elsewhere? Where do you mean?”

“Where else? That place you hated going to so much, Hwan.”

At those words.

Seohwan opened his mouth with an ah and said.

“Do you mean the Dragon Heaven Pavilion?”

“Right. The place you were called to every day and scolded.”

Dragon Heaven Pavilion?

While I and the unit members were puzzled by the unfamiliar term.

“Why are those two at Master’s residence?”

“They have a fairly important duty. Junior Brother Jeochil also knows the importance of the duty and is working diligently.”

Only after hearing those words.

The unit members and I were able to understand what kind of place the Dragon Heaven Pavilion was.

“Then shall we go straight there? Jeochil and Woojin, those two junior brothers, will also want to see Senior Sister and Junior Brother.”

“Yes....... We have been so busy with the Legion’s affairs that it has already been over a year since we last came here. I too want to see the faces of those two.”

“Good. Then, humans, this way.......”

“However.”

But.

Miho cut off Gyeonsul’s words and spoke.

“I know that child Jeochil’s temperament.”

“Yes?”

“You, Gyeonsul, are diligent and trust others easily, but how much does that child Jeochil like to take the easy way out? No matter how important the duty may be, there is no way he is doing it diligently. In my opinion, he is definitely lazing around somewhere, so I think it would be better to look around the pavilions and find Jeochil before going.”

At her words.

Gyeonsul tilted his head and answered.

“What are you talking about, Senior Sister? No matter how irresponsible Junior Brother Jeochil may be.......”

However.

“......That sounds good too!”

“Senior Sister Miyang?”

“Senior Sister Miho is right. If we go there for nothing and Junior Brother Jeochil is not there, that would make it a wasted trip, wouldn’t it? It is not urgent either.”

Miyang smiled, hehe, trying to follow Miho’s words.

Those looking at that scene seemed puzzled.

'......I thought she was simply happy to be back home.'

And I too.

Looked at Miho and thought.

'But maybe that’s not all.'

Miho looked at me and said.

“Commander, you also said you do not know what you should do here right away, so that should be all right, yes?”

“Uh, yeah. For now.”

“Then please follow me. I will guide you through our martial hall, which you did not get to see last time.”

And so.

The unit members and I came to look around the martial hall under the guidance of the beastkin.

“That place is the Sword-Laying Pond. It is where we receive guests who come from outside. Originally, the entrance of the mountain was there, and visitors would lay down their weapons there before receiving permission to enter the mountain...... but since the otherworld gate did not appear there, the Legion members ended up entering the mountain from a different place.”

“That wide place you see over there is the Great Peace Pavilion. It was the place where the young disciples of our sect trained.”

“That over there is the kitchen. Since we had no professional cook, the youngest usually did the cooking.”

Miho guided us through various places in the martial hall.

With strangely detailed explanations.

At first, I wondered whether there was any need to spend time listening to explanations like this, but.

“This place is the Sage Pavilion, where the records of the past masters and disciples of our sect are stored. When one became an official disciple of our sect, one had to greet the sages there.”

“......I see. Impressive.”

At a strange feeling that suddenly came over me.

I listened carefully to her explanation and took the sight of those pavilions into my eyes.

While doing so.

“You have been to that place before.”

“Ahh, I’m sure.”

“Yes. It is the place where our fellow disciples stay.”

Soon, we entered another pavilion we had arrived at.

Inside it were many beds.

But most of them were empty.

“Only these four remain now.”

“It is thanks to our benefactor.”

Only four beds were still occupied.

***

The martial artists of Cheonsan Martial Hall.

They were in a state of being sealed by the System.

And the criterion for that seal was the target’s strength.

The stronger the existence.

The more power the System had used to seal them, considering the danger if they were released.

Most of them had succeeded in waking from the seal by weakening their own power through my [bad food].

It was possible thanks to my cooking skill rising day by day, making the debuff effect of [bad food] stronger as well.

Even now, the moment my bad food stopped, they would have no choice but to be sealed again.

And.

Even if a debuff entered them through my cooking, which had improved so much.

There still remained beings who held power stronger than the standard set by this world.

[Myojeong]

[Beastkin - rabbit human]

“Junior Sister Myojeong handles swords like me. Unlike me, she is a swordswoman who uses a dual-sword style, and in terms of swordsmanship, she was a master among masters who could not even be compared to me. She was one of the few geniuses in our sect, reaching that realm despite being young, around Seohwan’s age.”

A woman with rabbit ears.

[Hyeonchuk]

[Beastkin - ox human]

“This is Senior Brother Hyeonchuk. He was the guardian of our sect who managed the Sword-Laying Pond, the place outsiders reach first, and he was the master of the Outer Hall, which oversaw everything that happened outside the sect.”

A man with enormous horns.

[Ungyeon]

[Beastkin - bear human]

“If Senior Brother Hyeonchuk was the Outer Hall Master, Senior Sister Ungyeon was the Inner Hall Master. She oversaw everything that happened inside the sect...... she was like the mother of our sect.”

A woman with a warm impression, possessing a body so massive it was hard to believe she was a woman.

“......And lastly.”

A man even larger than that bear woman.

[Cheonho]

[Beastkin - tiger human]

“The eldest senior brother of our sect, and the Great Protector who guards and enforces all laws of our sect...... this is Eldest Senior Brother Cheonho.”

A man with a sharp, beast-like mane.

The eldest senior brother of this place, Cheonsan Martial Hall.

He was asleep now.

But just looking at him, I could feel his strength.

'......No, it isn’t just his impression.'

I felt the tremendous aura flowing from that body.

When I had seen him before, my level had not been high enough, so I had not been able to grasp it properly.

But this man called Cheonho.

'So dense...... it almost looks violet-blue.'

The strength pouring out from that body.

I had seen this level of strength a few times before.

'Dasmur’s divine beast, Melchiorn’s grand duke, the Church’s leech.'

The grand duke and the leech were beings who could evolve to the “next” stage with just one more step.

And according to the grand duke.

What he had reached was a realm where many things changed with only a single stage of difference.

“Eldest Senior Brother...... Senior Brother Cheonho was on the verge of ascension.”

“Ascension?”

Yes.

It was said to be a realm just before transcendence.

“The martial arts we learned are cultivation techniques for escaping the beast instincts we possess. When that training reaches the extreme, one becomes able to escape the limits of the beast one was born with and walk above the heavens. That is ascension.”

“The heavens...... you mean becoming a god?”

“In the language of this land, yes. Even if one does not reach the Heavenly Emperor who created heaven and earth, it is a realm where even intervening in and twisting the laws of the earth is easy...... especially the Great Immortals who assist right beside the Heavenly Emperor were truly beings not lacking to be called gods.”

“......You’re saying there were more than one or two such beings?”

“Of course, they were not common. But according to what Master told us, the number of immortals seemed to reach at least several dozen.”

I looked at her with a little surprise.

'There were no zombies in these guys’ world.'

Even that Dasmur had collapsed under the armies of zombies.

But in the scenery of this world’s destruction, there had been no zombies visible.

I had been wondering about the reason.

'There were quite a few beings in this world that could be called divine.'

In the Dasmur or Morzan I had seen, there had only been one being that could be called divine.

But this place was different.

'Immortals...... and even Great Immortals above those immortals.'

A world where several divine beings ruled over one world.

That might be why even the zombies could not pierce through this world.

“......Then what about your master?”

“Do you mean Master?”

“You said your eldest senior brother was right before becoming that immortal thing.”

This one too was ultimately a disciple who shared the same master as the rest of them.

And yet, this man called Cheonho, a disciple, had been right before becoming an immortal.

“There is no law saying a disciple’s skill must be below the master’s. Did this guy surpass even his master’s skill and try to ascend first?”

“Hehe, as if.”

At my words.

Miho shook her head and answered.

“No matter how outstanding Eldest Senior Brother was, he could not compare to Master.”

“But you said beings who ascend rise above that heaven. Wasn’t your master staying on the ground?”

“Master was.......”

Miho seemed about to explain something more.

“Let us stop there, Senior Sister.”

At that moment.

There was a voice cutting off her words.

“No matter how close Senior Sister is with the Legion, the Legion is the Legion, not Cheonsan Sect. That benefactor of yours is the same. I am grateful for the grace he bestowed, but he is still an outsider who only bestowed grace.”

A man with a frown.

The one swinging his long monkey tail...... was Shin Jong.

“We repaid that grace by bestowing martial arts and by fighting with our lives on the line last time.”

“.......”

“Originally, he is not even someone we should be telling such detailed stories of our sect to like this. So...... let us not go any further than that.”

In the movement of that tail.

There was blatant irritation.