Chapter 24 - Do You Know About the Ruins?
On the way back from the Silver Frog Vault, I pondered quietly.
What I had, And what I needed.
What I had: acting skills, and information.
What I needed: of course...
“Props.”
Right now, I could fool everyone around me.
But when the well ran dry, the lie would inevitably collapse.
This time proved it too—Gwak Jin had used sound transmission.
Anyone above the First-rate level could project their internal energy outside their body, and using it to send voice across distance was the basic structure of sound transmission.
However, in Sado Hwan’s case, his physique couldn’t emit internal energy externally, meaning he couldn’t use sound transmission at all.
Well, it's not like sound transmission is absolutely essential.
But later on, I’d have to act like a Transcendent Peak master, and if I couldn’t use even a basic technique like that, it would crack the persona I was building.
One crack was fine—but if it kept cracking, the whole act would eventually shatter.
Could I suddenly become enlightened and powerful one day?
Of course not.
Unlike Yun Yeopja, I wasn’t going to awaken some new realm through a convenient level-up event and start emitting energy bolts.
To survive in this brutal Martial World, I had to take a different path.
Artifacts and treasures.
Whether it’s a legendary sword like Skybreaker, or anything else that could increase my safety—I had to get my hands on them.
Most artifacts and treasures were hidden away, but—
“I know where they are.”
As a seasoned veteran of Return of the Murim, how could I not?
Of course, I hadn’t seen them with my own eyes, but having intel was still far better than having none.
Among them, there was one ruin not far from here, in Taeryeong Prefecture.
Well, not far meant a week on horseback, but whatever.
The treasure in that ruin would be extremely useful for my current situation.
It was originally supposed to appear in the mid-to-late stages of Return of the Murim, carried by a man who stirred up no end of trouble in the Martial World.
But if I got it first—well, that’s the perk of being a transmigrator, right?
“I’d planned to take my time with it...”
Because I hadn’t seen it directly, the risk was high.
So I had wanted to prepare more and, once the attention on me died down a bit, use the Black Shadow Corps to brute-force my way in.
But at this rate—
“Saweol will start to doubt me.”
She’d begin to notice something was off.
Despite being able to manipulate murderous intent at will, I never drew my sword. I couldn’t use sound transmission either.
Considering the Demon Cult is full of lunatics, winning Saweol over to my side was a high priority.
And so, for all these reasons combined, I decided to go after the treasure.
“If I get that item, sound transmission will be naturally taken care of.”
It wasn’t a treasure made specifically for sound transmission, but still...
After making that decision, I returned to the inn.
“Why are you two like this?”
Yun Yeopja and Tang Siyuk were slumped across the table, pale-faced.
A Tang Clan martial artist answered with an awkward expression.
“Well…”
After hearing the explanation, I was speechless.
“You mean… they got stomachaches after their spicy food contest?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“Couldn’t you just fix that with internal energy?”
To my question, Yun Yeopja responded,
“We couldn’t. Using internal energy would be an insult to the sanctity of the contest.”
He spoke solemnly in a voice barely above a whisper. I nearly laughed out loud.
Since when was eating spicy food some sacred duel?
“Yun Yeopja is right, brother. Whoever uses internal energy first loses.”
Tang Siyuk chimed in.
I shook my head.
Apparently, Demon Cultists weren’t the only crazy ones in this world.
“Everyone, please go. I want to rest today. Gentlemen, take your young master home. You too, Master Yun—”
“That won’t do.”
“We can’t!”
They shouted in unison.
“The match isn’t over yet!”
“Yes! This is merely a break!”
Then they flopped back onto the table.
Yeah, I really must be the protagonist.
If not, their intelligence wouldn’t be dropping like this.
Of course, it probably didn’t start with a desire to prove their spice tolerance.
They’d likely just wanted to show off their closeness to me.
In this world, friendships are part of your power.
If a young, mysterious expert like Eastern Sword Dragon was your friend, your standing rose—even by just 1%.
But thanks to the intelligence debuff effect (?), they had clearly forgotten their original goal.
“This is starting to get annoying.”
[What is?]
“I was going to summon the Black Shadow Corps, but with these guys here, they’ll notice.”
I didn’t know how, but the beggars from the Beggars’ Union had managed to track the Corps.
Even though I’d shown them disappearing, I couldn’t assume they’d given up completely.
“The Black Shadow Corps’ demonic aura is too strong.”
Those who practiced demonic arts had a distinct energy.
Righteous sects had pure energy, unorthodox sects had murky energy, and demonic energy was bizarre and sinister.
Others might not notice, but a Transcendent Peak master like Yun Yeopja would.
In my case, even though I had learned the demonic art of Heavenly Demon Divine Art, I couldn’t emit energy, so they didn’t realize.
I discreetly told Saweol to cancel the summoning. She nodded and went downstairs.
“W-Water, please…”
“Ah, drinking water means you lose.”
“No way—I won’t lose…”
Idiots.
Wait. Maybe I can just bring them with me?
The Black Shadow Corps were my limbs, but they were difficult to move openly in righteous territory.
In contrast, with Yun Yeopja and Tang Siyuk, I could move freely and openly.
The successor of Kunlun’s First Sword and the heir to the Tang Clan.
That was a pretty formidable combination—future centers of power.
Of course, looking at them sprawled on the table kind of ruined that image.
Yeah, I can’t just bring those two alone. I’ll need proper backup.
First, Saweol.
A well-rounded Peak Realm expert, she was skilled at hiding herself.
Even though she had learned demonic martial arts, I could cover for that by saying she trained in assassination arts for high-level escort duty.
Assassination techniques were often eerie and subtle.
Still, I needed at least one more person. Just in case.
“It’ll have to be… Tak Horak, I guess.”
He was sulking in the disciplinary hall, having gotten himself punished.
Tak Horak didn’t train in demonic martial arts—he practiced his clan’s traditional techniques.
His family wasn’t originally part of the Demon Cult. They surrendered after the Heavenly Demon Blood War 100 years ago.
So even though he was a Demon Cultist in spirit, his martial arts were not demonic in nature.
That made him perfect.
Those two should be enough.
And I doubt Tak Horak will cause any more trouble—he’s keeping a low profile.
Now, how do I rope in these righteous rookies?
Let’s try starting with a bit of bait.
“You two. There’s something important I need to discuss. Can we postpone your match?”
Their expressions changed immediately.
Yun Yeopja closed his eyes and circulated his energy. A moment later, a sharp medicinal aroma wafted out.
Tang Siyuk also pulled something from his poison pouch and chewed a few times—his complexion returned.
That was easier than expected.
“You guys, step outside for a moment.”
“But—”
“Our elder brother has spoken. Step outside.”
Did their intelligence debuff wear off? Tang Siyuk was quick on the uptake.
I began.
“Do you know about ruins?”
Tang Siyuk answered,
“Of course. Every martial artist knows. They’re death traps where you can obtain artifacts and treasures—and if you’re lucky, supreme martial arts or elixirs.”
In short, it’s like a wuxia-themed dungeon.
That cave with the formation in the Great Soul Separation Art arc was technically one too.
“Right. A few years ago, a ruin containing the Long Treasure Blade of the 300-year-old master Samrak Blade Saint was discovered—it caused a huge stir.”
“In the end, the Peng Clan of Hebei took it after a fierce battle. I saw one of them recently—they wouldn’t stop bragging.”
“Yes. Ruins are that valuable. Are you interested in one, Brother?”
I nodded.
“You both know I have my own mission. One of those missions is to explore a ruin. It’s said to be left behind by one of the Eastern Saint, and I’m tasked with retrieving a treasure from within.”
Truthfully, I didn’t know whose ruin it was.
But I did know what was inside.
“So, if I may ask for your help…”
“I will help, Brother!”
That easy?
“It’s our brother asking—of course, we will. Right, Master Yun?”
“I will also assist,” Yun Yeopja said with a solemn nod.
I was a bit taken aback.
Ruins are dangerous.
They’re practically monsters that lure people in with treasure and devour them.
Martial artists are superhuman—they walk on water and shatter stone.
But even they fall prey to the traps inside ruins.
And worst of all… was other people.
Factions and sects often went to war over ruins, even massacring each other.
So even if a ruin is discovered, it goes through multiple rounds of verification before being tackled with the full might of an entire sect.
In Return of the Murim, many clans were annihilated while trying to conquer ruins.
Even the start of the Heavenly Demon Blood War came from a ruin…
In short, exploring ruins is no joke.
But they agreed so easily?
I hadn’t even told them what kind of ruin it was.
I was thankful, but their intelligence nerf clearly hadn’t worn off yet.
“The ruin is located at Soyang Mountain, about a week’s ride from here.”
“How typical. Do you know what kind of ruin it is?”
“Not really. Only that it was left behind by some Saint.”
“That’s fine. If it’s a Saint’s ruin, it shouldn’t be evil.”
Some ruins were malicious—filled with traps and no actual treasure, meant only to kill.
“When do you plan to depart?” asked Yun Yeopja.
“Tonight. We’ll leave immediately.”
***
A week later.
Me, Saweol, Tak Horak.
Yun Yeopja and Tang Siyuk, along with a few Tang Clan martial artists.
After fending off countless bandit attacks, we finally arrived at Soyang Mountain, where the ruin was located.
A cave halfway up the mountain, with a bear-shaped rock at its entrance—just like in Return of the Murim.
The entrance was cleverly hidden by thick foliage, making it easy to miss.
Even with the prior knowledge, I had to double back twice before finding it.
And then—
“Brother?”
Tang Siyuk’s face stiffened.
“There are signs of people.”
“People?”
“Looks like someone already entered the ruin.”
No way… Did he already get here at this point in the timeline?
“We’re going in.”
And so, we stepped into the ruin.