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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Bobt
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“Hmm, what exactly happened during this time?”
When he was ten years old in his previous life, he had been busy going back and forth between Rakan Hell and his residence, focusing on martial arts training.
He didn’t have the leisure to pay attention to other matters.
Above all, it was before the age of war began. The information about that time was almost non-existent.
What Joo Seo-cheon knew was mainly about the age of war. It was from the time of the Three-Eyed Divine Thief, which was the trigger for it.
The events that occurred before that were really trivial. Even then, he knew very little.
“Hahaha, I don’t even know how long it has been since my last mission.”
Yu Jeong-mok laughed as if he was truly in a good mood, regardless of whether his disciple was trembling with anxiety or not. Joo Seo-cheon wanted to say something while stamping his feet, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it.
It was because he knew better than anyone what kind of feelings Yu Jeong-mok had been harboring.
Despite his skills, he had been excluded from most missions. Even when he received missions, they were usually short-term or relatively easy ones.
Long-term missions required considerable endurance. Especially in urgent cases, if a fever arose midway or his body had limitations, it would be really problematic.
So, despite his strength, Yu Jeong-mok had been left out of many important missions, and he often lamented this.
At times, he was so depressed that he felt he couldn’t properly repay the sect’s kindness.
How could he stop his master in such a situation?
Although he was worried, he couldn’t stop his master.
“What kind of mission is it?”
Joo Seo-cheon asked, looking at Yu Jeong-mok with concern.
Then Yu Jeong-mok smiled naturally, as he always did, squatted down, and met his disciple’s eyes.
“Don’t worry too much. Your master is not going to die. Although I have cured this sickly constitution, it’s still uncertain, so they haven’t entrusted me with a major task.”
Even though he had reached the transcendent level and his body had been healed, they couldn’t suddenly entrust him with an important mission.
Yu Jeong-mok still had no accomplishments, and he had a history of being weak, so they couldn’t trust him.
Yu Jeong-mok himself knew this well, so he didn’t feel offended and agreed.
For this reason, the leadership of the Mount Hua Sect decided to assign Yu Jeong-mok to a mid-level mission as a trial.
“I understand. I will pray for your safe return.”
Joo Seo-cheon saw Yu Jeong-mok off with a mixture of worry and congratulations.
In the year he turned ten, a big change came to Joo Seo-cheon.
“Ah, and I have submitted your name for the Lotus Hall assessment, so prepare in advance. I’m sure you will be able to enter.”
“Cough, cough!”
As soon as the name Lotus Hall was mentioned, he couldn’t help but cough.
“No, but why?”
It was better to spend his childhood without standing out. For the sake of the future, it was better to do so.
But why the Lotus Hall?
The Lotus Hall was a place where only the talented individuals of Mount Hwa gathered. It was an institution that not only the Mount Hua Sect but also the martial arts sects kept an eye on.
Since most of the next-generation Plum Blossom Swordsmen came from here, it naturally drew attention.
“I don’t know how long the mission will take, but if I venture into the murim, there won’t be many people to look after you. If you enter the Lotus Hall, you won’t have to worry about that. No, on the contrary, they will teach you better than this incompetent master.”
“That’s not true!”
“Hahaha, I always say this, but you tend to overpraise me too much. Anyway, I believe you are more than capable of entering the Lotus Hall. Ah, but don’t feel too pressured. It’s okay if you fail.”
The pressure was driving him crazy.
Benevolent eyes. The emotion reflected in them was “trust.”
He was certain that his disciple would definitely enter the Lotus Hall. He was convinced that there was no reason for him to fail the assessment.
It wasn’t unreasonable for Yu Jeong-mok to think that way. In fact, Joo Seo-cheon indeed possessed that level of skill.
“Well then, I’ll be off.”
Joo Seo-cheon was about to make a sad face, but he didn’t want to worry Yu Jeong-mok, who was too soft-hearted when it came to his disciple, so he had no choice but to forcibly smile brightly and send him off.
* * *
Four days later.
“Ah, damn it!”
Joo Seo-cheon screamed while pulling his hair.
“What the hell should I do?”
Joo Seo-cheon shed tears of blood over the problem his master had left him. He couldn’t even sleep properly for the past four days due to the Lotus Hall assessment.
Logically, he should fail the assessment. If he passed, he would draw attention and become bothered either way.
He didn’t have to worry about revealing the Purple Haze Divine Technique, but there would still be various annoyances.
However, his emotions were in a completely different direction.
“Are you going to betray Master’s trust?”
Master Yu Jeong-mok was like a god. Since God had said he believed in him, it was difficult to turn away from that expectation.
He wanted to enter the Lotus Hall and meet his expectations.
“Hah, in my previous life, it was a place I wanted to enter so badly, but now I’m agonizing over whether I should enter or not!”
The Lotus Hall. Just hearing that name made his heart flutter for no reason.
For the fourth-generation disciples, the Lotus Hall was a holy land. Entering there meant being evaluated as a promising talent of Mount Hwa.
Moreover, it signified getting closer to the Plum Blossom Swordsman, the idol of the Mount Hua Sect’s disciples, so it had to be a holy land.
Even Joo Seo-cheon had admired the Lotus Hall in his life before the regression. It was an institution that any disciple of the Mount Hua Sect admired.
Joo Seo-cheon, who had dreamed of a more splendid life since the regression. It would be a lie to say he had no emotions at all.
To clear his mind, Joo Seo-cheon found a place with few people and immersed himself in sword technique training. By the way, it was the Five Elements Plum Blossom Sword.
In addition, he trained in various techniques, starting from the Six Harmonies Sword, Falling Petals Sword Technique, and even the Twenty-Four Hands Plum Blossom Sword Technique that even Yu Jeong-mok hadn’t learned.
If he could, he wanted to train in the Purple Haze Sword Technique as well, but he needed to at least achieve the fourth stage of the Purple Haze Divine Technique to do so.
“Actually, I’m already drawing attention…”
Not just anyone could become a transcendent master.
Above all, Yu Jeong-mok had once been a candidate for the Plum Blossom Swordsman. That alone was enough to be recognized.
As a result, Yu Jeong-mok was relatively well-known within the Mount Hua Sect, even if he wasn’t known outside the sect.
After Joo Seo-cheon became his disciple, that little bit of fame disappeared, but it resurfaced when he reached the transcendent level.
As Yu Jeong-mok became somewhat famous, naturally, the stories about his disciple also spread to some extent.
Especially among the lay disciples who wanted to form connections with Yu Jeong-mok and the visitors.
Reason and emotion.
It wasn’t easy to conclude which one to follow.
“My head already hurts because of the Three-Eyed Divine Thief… Huh?”
The Lotus Hall, attention, and the secret treasury of the Three-Eyed Divine Thief.
These three factors gathered together, intertwined, and branched out to list new information.
After sweating from sword training, he dipped his feet in the stream water and reorganized the thoughts that came to his mind.
The secret treasury of the Three-Eyed Divine Thief would be discovered five years later. Anyway, he had to make his debut in the murim unconditionally a year earlier.
He didn’t know exactly how much treasure was hidden in the secret treasury, but he knew it wasn’t a small amount.
To move and hide all of it, he needed at least a year. Perhaps he might need help from others, and finding trustworthy people would also take time, so two years were necessary.
The absolute minimum time was one year. If possible, two years. In other words, he needed to make his debut in the murim when he was thirteen years old.
So he had been frustrated, not knowing what to do, but just now, a method had crossed his mind.
“You fool!”
Joo Seo-cheon berated himself for his stupidity. All the worries he had until now felt meaningless.
“If I want to venture into the murim at the age of thirteen or so, the usual methods won’t work.”
Even if he asked his master, Yu Jeong-mok wouldn’t be able to get approval from above unless there was a legitimate reason.
No, in the first place, he was at a loss as to what excuse to make to Yu Jeong-mok to get his help.
However, there was a way to solve this troublesome situation. It was an extremely simple solution.
The reason why the Mount Hua Sect wanted to send out the fourth-generation disciples after they reached adulthood, around the age of twenty, was simple. They were afraid that the disciples they had painstakingly raised would die a tragic death due to insufficient skills.
Of course, when the fourth-generation disciples made their debut in the murim, they weren’t sent alone. A skilled third-generation disciple would be assigned as a guardian.
However, human affairs, no, the affairs of the murim were unpredictable. No one knew what variables would come into play.
So, to ensure that they could at least survive those variables, they required a certain level of strength and martial arts proficiency and conducted assessments.
“When weighing between the secret treasury of the Three-Eyed Divine Thief and standing out, there’s no need to even think about it. The secret treasury of the Three-Eyed Divine Thief comes first.”
The value of the secret treasury was truly astronomical. The uses of the treasures inside were endless.
First, spiritual medicines. What Joo Seo-cheon lacked was internal energy, so if he could solve that, it was only a matter of time before he regained his martial prowess from his previous life.
Second, secret manuals and spirit weapons. These two would be used to gather talented individuals to fight together in the upcoming age of war.
In addition, they could be used as bait, and there were many other uses, so it was best to secure them first.
“I’ll just keep a reasonable line and stand out. Anyway, I’m young, so they won’t be that wary of me. I’ll show just enough skill to barely enter the Lotus Hall.”
His mind was spinning fast.
He drew the big picture overall. Although it wasn’t yet detailed, he had roughly set up the framework.
“Sigh, even though it’s a new life, I’m so incompetent.”
A sigh escaped Joo Seo-cheon’s lips.
“You’re a fool, a fool. You only know a lot, but you don’t know how to properly apply it. Reflect on yourself, Joo Seo-cheon.”
He tapped his own head and sharpened his mind.
Indeed, he was ahead of others. But that was it. It was questionable whether he could properly respond if variables arose.
In the first place, Joo Seo-cheon as a person was not very competent. He had only followed the teachings of the Mount Hua Sect.
He was only accustomed to receiving orders. If someone asked if he was wise, it would be ambiguous to answer.
Somehow, he had barely reached the transcendent level by struggling, and only when death approached did he fortunately reach the Awakening Realm with luck.
That was it. It was nothing.
He was just ordinary. Not outstanding, but not stupid either. Just that.
Joo Seo-cheon kept that in mind.
If he had been wise enough to come up with good results with just a little thought, he would have been properly recognized by everyone and become a real Fifth Elder of Mount Hua in his previous life before the regression.
Still, if there was one advantage to Joo Seo-cheon, it was that he knew his place.
Thanks to that, he had somehow survived in the age of war.
“I have three years left. I’ll enter the Lotus Hall this year and achieve excellent results. And if I pester Master and somehow use force, I might be able to venture into the murim. It doesn’t suit me to work hard, but I have no choice.”
Three years.
Until he reached the age of thirteen.
Joo Seo-cheon decided to stake everything.
Entering the Lotus Hall! Debut in the murim! The secret treasury of the Three-Eyed Divine Thief!
He pondered over these three things.
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