C148
Cale corrected the misunderstanding.
"I do not walk the path of witchcraft."
Sima Pyeong asked calmly, maintaining his impassive expression.
"Young Master Kim, do you also hide your knowledge of shamanism?"
A look of bewilderment crossed Cale's face.
"Why should I hide it?"
At that moment, a subtle smile appeared at the corner of Sima Pyeong's lips.
"I understand. But I do."
His expression quickly changed from serene and smiling to one of flattery and a radiant smile.
"In the Martial World, isn't it true that the perception of shamanism is not very favorable? Haha!"
He stroked the end of his goatee, which had a significant impact on his appearance.
"Many people consider internal cultivation to be superior, followed by external cultivation, and lastly shamanism."
In the current society, the belief that internal cultivation was the best, followed by external cultivation, and that shamanism was not right prevailed.
This was because shamanism was often misunderstood as a practice related to curses and spirits.
However, what Sima Pyeong learned was not like that.
"Rather, there is nothing that uses the power of nature as much as witchcraft. It's a pity they don't understand this."
Shamanism was based on extracting the surrounding natural energy using primarily the Dantian in the body.
"Evil Alliance Leader-nim."
Cale stared at Sima Pyeong and then spoke.
"It seems you don't believe my statement that I do not practice shamanism."
"That's right. Haha!"
Sima Pyeong responded indifferently.
"At this moment, I feel a great natural energy gathered around Young Master. Your presence is quite noticeable. Why should I believe your words?"
He picked up his tea cup.
"Furthermore, I heard your explanation about the power you use. The more I listened, the more it seemed to me that it was not a martial technique but rather shamanism (witchcraft)."
At that moment...
Zzzsh---
Finally, rain started to fall from the previously overcast sky.
Sima Pyeong extended his tea cup toward the open window.
Zzzsh---
Some raindrops changed direction in mid-air.
Then, they formed a small whirlpool and fell into Sima Pyeong's tea cup.
Inside the cup, a small vortex formed, creating tiny waves and a small sea.
"After my family collapsed, I ventured into the mountains in hopes of finding some medicinal herbs to sell. There, I found a cave, and inside the cave, I found a book, and through that book, I acquired this power."
Chr~
Finally, Cale could hear the strange sound coming from the gem at the end of Sima Pyeong's fan.
"In reality, this power was something close to a concept. The use of the 'water' attribute aligned well with the martial technique and formations used by the Sima Family. Based on this idea, I restructured my martial technique through shamanism."
Sima Pyeong looked at Cale, still smiling.
"In summary, in my case, martial cultivation and shamanism are intertwined. Like Young Master Kim, aren't you using the 'fire' attribute?"
At that moment, Sima Pyeong could see a smile forming at the corners of Cale's lips. Then, he spoke.
"Raon."
"Yes!"
Sima Pyeong's eyes widened.
A small vortex inside his tea cup started to rise.
Growing larger and larger, it eventually lifted back up toward the window.
Kaaaah!
And it absorbed the surrounding rain.
The vortex, growing increasingly larger, finally rose into the sky.
A force going against the falling rain.
Sima Pyeong's gaze trembled from the power.
His well-maintained mask cracked unexpectedly.
"This, this is..."
At that moment, a childish voice rang out.
A pair of dark blue eyes appeared in the air. Sima Pyeong recognized the Divine Beast his daughter had told him about.
The childlike eyes looked at Sima Pyeong and suddenly spoke.
"Evil Alliance Leader! You are wrong!"
Sima Pyeong's face blanked.
Raon spoke anyway.
"The power I possess is Magic, not Witchcraft!"
Raon also revealed his small black body as he spoke to Cale.
"And the power that the Human has is not the same as shamanism! Human, show him!"
"...Me too?"
"Yes! You too, Human! The Evil Alliance Leader is mistaken in his understanding. Grandpa Goldie said so. He said you must first correct the misconceptions, then establish the foundations, and finally develop your abilities."
Cale smiled wryly and extended his hand toward the window.
-Should I do it in moderation?
When Cale first came here and took the Divine Medicines, an Ancient Power had awakened with the Glutton Priestess.
The Sky Eating Water had always been quiet, and Cale had never had to use its strength. But this time, the Sky Eating Water asked a question after a long time, and Cale nodded.
53%. The seal's power had been released.
That power manifested slightly.
"!"
Sima Pyeong's eyes widened once again.
The raindrops hitting the ground gathered. Soon, they formed into a large arrow and shot up into the sky.
Thud~.
Sima Pyeong stood up and stuck his head out of the window.
The vortex created by Raon, followed by arrows, continued to rise into the sky as if it was aiming for the heavens.
Kaaaaaah----!
The two powers exploded in the sky and disappeared.
Even though they had exploded from a great height, the sound resonated loudly.
Sima Pyeong could see through the windows of the mansion and the guesthouse the figures of those who had peeked their heads outside.
They were his children and the other guests from the Justice Faction.
Zzzsh---
Only the sound of the rain falling again remained.
Sima Pyeong avoided the gazes that were directed at him and slowly closed the window.
Clang.
The sound of rain was barely audible.
Despite the darkness inside due to the overcast weather, Sima Pyeong could clearly see the figures of Young Master Kim and the Black Dragon in front of him.
The young Dragon pounded the table as he spoke.
"Evil Alliance Leader, do you now understand the difference between you, the Human, and me? Not all of nature is the same! Depending on how you use nature, its nature changes!"
Sima Pyeong was left speechless and finally let out a small sigh.
"Huh!"
It seemed he had realized something.
Raon's eyes sparkled.
"Evil Alliance Leader, you are very clever, aren't you? You could understand right away by seeing it once! You are not as smart as Rosaline, but you are still admirable!"
Raon kept chattering, but Sima Pyeong seemed lost in thought, gazing into space as if he hadn't heard him.
Then suddenly, he looked at Cale.
An expressionless face turned towards him through the broken mask.
"Young Master-nim, no, Beast Divine-nim."
The gaze turned to Raon.
"A moment ago, what was that power?"
"Eh? What do you mean?"
"I mean the power you used to manipulate the water in my cup and every raindrop to move according to your will. Although that power is small in itself, it seemed to be imbued with the very essence of nature. That essence was life itself!"
Sima Pyeong's voice grew louder, and he was truly excited.
"That power had no traces of the Five Elements' concepts. It was simply the living existence present in nature. Yes, it was life itself."
"Oh!"
Thump.
Raon heavily pounded the table.
"Evil Alliance Leader! Did you feel the Mana?"
What's going on?
Cale observed the conversation between Raon and Sima Pyeong without saying anything.
However, both seemed absorbed in a very lively conversation as if they weren't paying him any attention.
"Is that power named Mana?"
"Yes! It's Mana!"
"Oh, Mana... That's a really beautiful name! Each of those small raindrops you captured, even though their size was small, seemed to be filled with the essence of all life. It's incredible that you can handle that wonder with your intention!"
"That is Magic that uses Mana. Evil Alliance Leader, you are clever!"
The young dragon and the middle-aged goatee man stopped talking for a moment and looked at each other.
Especially the middle-aged man seemed to have something he wanted to say but hesitated. Finally, he grabbed the fan with both hands and spoke carefully.
"...Beast Divine-nim."
"Call me Raon."
"Yes, Raon-nim. Could I get at least a bit of teaching on the power you used just now?"
Raon looked at Sima Pyeong with wide-open eyes, then glanced at Cale discreetly.
-Is it okay, Human?
Cale heard Raon's voice in his mind and considered.
'Will the God of Balance have any issue with this?'
If I transfer the power from Cale's world to this one, will it break the balance?
He took out his old mirror.
Tock.
He tapped the mirror and spoke.
"Give me 10 seconds. If I don't receive any message saying not to, I'll take it as acceptance."
Ten seconds passed.
The mirror remained silent.
Cale nodded to Raon.
"Go ahead, just the basics."
"I don't plan to do anything else. The shamanism that the Evil Alliance Leader learned is different even from Gashan's! And they shouldn't mix with Magic! I'll only teach the basics of Mana and how to use it. How you, Evil Alliance Leader, choose to use it will be your problem. Do you understand, Evil Alliance Leader?"
"Yes, Raon-nim."
Sima Pyeong responded respectfully, as if he was dealing with a master. His expression seemed sincere.
"I will refer to you as Master (Teacher)."
"Huh?"
Cale noticed that Raon's mouth corners trembled for a moment.
"Master, me?"
"Yes, Raon-nim. Even receiving some teaching makes you a master."
"...Mmm."
Raon let out a strange noise through his nose, puffing up his cheeks.
At that moment, a bell-like sound rang out. A message from the Divine Mirror.
<Only up to the intermediate level!>
It was a message from Jungwon.
Until now, even if Cale shed blood or Raon tried to break the statue, this guy always remained silent. But now, he appeared.
Cale's lips curled upward. His gaze looked intense.
Ring, ring, ting!
<I am debating a bit! Please wait a bit more!>
What is he debating about?
<I don't have enough power on my own. Besides, I am still very young, and I lack the capacity.>
There was a moment when Cale's brow furrowed slightly.
Ring!
<So, I am thinking about involving the other worlds related to the Hunter Families and other dimensions to make a suggestion to the God of Balance.>
<So basically, just go for it.>
Suddenly, the words became blurry.
A moment later, the message came back with a "ring."
<...They say it's an unavailable vocabulary. Anyway, I think they understood my intention.>
<This Jungwon will definitely work hard and bring good results!>
And then, the Divine Mirror fell silent again.
'This guy, Jungwon, is smarter than he seems.'
Given his actions so far and what he was doing, he seemed quite shrewd and was trying to avoid losses.
'In any case, it benefited me.'
What Jungwon was trying to say before being restricted was obvious.
'So just go for it.'
He was just saying to go for it.
So I will.
"Raon, you can only teach up to the intermediate level."
"Yes, understood."
Sima Pyeong slightly bowed his head to Cale.
"Thank you for allowing this, Young Master Kim. I will learn well from my master."
Every time he used the word "master," Raon's cheeks puffed up.
With a warm smile, Sima Pyeong continued.
"It is a great honor to be able to receive teachings from the great Dragon. I feel grateful and honored to have this rare opportunity in my life. Master, I will learn diligently."
At that moment, Raon's expression stiffened.
When Sima Pyeong stopped, the young Dragon spoke firmly.
"I don't like excessive flattery."
Raon made his point clear.
"Of course, since it's true that I'm great, you can say it!"
"Ah, yes. Master!"
Sima Pyeong responded somewhat nervously, and Cale looked at him with satisfaction.
'I've done it.'
Cale would eliminate the Hunter Family, the Blue Blood Family, here.
However, this would only destroy the core of the problem rather than resolving all the issues related to the Blood Cult. That would take too long.
If that's what was going on, he would have to rely on the people of the Central Plains to deal with the aftermath.
'The situation with Shaolen (Xiaolen) was different.'
Shaolen had a basic understanding of Dead Mana, which is fundamentally used by the Hunter Families.
However, in the Central Plains, they had practically no concepts of Mana and Dead Mana. So, if Sima Pyeong understood this, it would be easier to handle the consequences of the Blood Cult later.
"Evil Alliance Leader-nim. However, there are conditions for this teaching."
Therefore, Cale set conditions.
"What you gain from this teaching must be used to solve problems related to the Blood Cult."
Sima Pyeong let out a sigh.
"Young Master Kim is truly amazing. It's incredible that someone like him actually exists."
Cale felt a bit strange.
"I understand. If you have gained knowledge, you must give back. If you can't, I will use harsher measures."
Sima Pyeong's positive and firm response made Cale not think about arguing.
Instead, he listened to Raon, who seemed excited.
"Now I have a disciple...?"
...Maybe Raon was excited about that.
Cale sighed lightly at the thought.
"Maybe the Nokrim Leader is a Living Jiangshi."
Cale stiffened at Sima Pyeong's words.
"...What are you saying?"
When he asked, Sima Pyeong spoke kindly with a polite smile.
"And my eldest son, I believe, is also a Living Jiangshi. I could see that the two of them were conspiring to provoke the Great War from some time ago, and I had my suspicions as to why, so I pretended to be weak and looked around. Upon hearing about the Blood Cult, I could see the answer."
Sima Pyeong was as intelligent as Jegal Miryeo.
And it was Sima Pyeong who taught the basics to his youngest son, Sima Gong, who was a gambling addict but quite intelligent.
"I also have a list of people exhibiting suspicious behaviors. Please take a look. They are probably Living Jiangshi or spies."
He added.
"I've also brought some of the Blood Cult's secrets that remained within the Sima Family, so they may be useful to you."
Wow.
Cale was impressed.
-Human, I like the Evil Alliance Leader! Not because he's my disciple, but because he's someone we can communicate with!
Yes, it seems that way.
Things with the Evil Faction were going to go much smoother and easier than he thought.
At that moment.
Bang! Bang!
Sounds like someone was banging on the door echoed.
"Young Master, Young Master!"
"Hey, you shouldn't... Please, calm down first-"
"What's there to calm down about!"
The door was forcefully flung open.
Taoist Un Seon, who had invited Cale to the Kunlun Sect, looked urgently at him and shouted.
"The Sect Leader is calling for you!"
There were few things that would make the Kunlun Sect Leader call for Cale so urgently.
Cale immediately asked.
"Did something happen to Jang Hyung Daehyup?"
The Living Jiangshi of the Kunlun Sect was Jang Hyung, the next Kunlun Sect Leader Great.
"...Yes, he's causing a ruckus!"
The moment Un Seon answered with a distressed face, Cale told Raon.
"Summon the Heavenly Demon. We'll go straight to Kunlun."
Once the issue with Jang Hyung was resolved, only the Evil Faction would remain, and then the Blood Cult would come next.
-
