The offer to give him whatever martial art he wanted.
“So you can just give it away like that?”
That question immediately came to Lee Tae-sung’s mind after hearing Yoo Baek’s words.
Even if he was a Tower Lord’s close disciple, that was certainly a high position, but was it enough to freely hand out the sect’s highest-level martial arts?
Yoo Baek seemed to know that as well, smiling awkwardly and scratching his head.
“Haha… Well, I plan to talk nicely with my master, the Tower Lord. Still, I’m his favorite disciple, so I don’t think he’ll say no.”
“Hmm. In that case, I’ll trust you.”
“Yes! If he says no, I’ll even steal it for you! I have a copy of my master’s library key, you see!”
“……”
That’s a bit troubling.
Lee Tae-sung felt like that couldn’t possibly be serious.
—
Yoo Baek said he needed a day to convince his master.
Lee Tae-sung said he could take all the time he needed and agreed to meet the next day.
He wasn’t in a hurry.
‘If he says no, I can just go back to the Shadow Knight Order.’
If he could get a skill better than what he could obtain with Contribution Points from Seongrak Tower, that would be great; otherwise, it was fine.
After all, it was only a one-day difference in getting the skill.
During that day, he did a little research on Seongrak Tower.
He already knew about it.
It was one of the famous major factions in the Dream World.
But he didn’t know the details, so he took this opportunity to dig a little deeper.
‘A place that strives to emulate the energy of the heavens…’
Believing that Ascendants who stood at the peak in various fields became stars in the sky, and accepting their energy to emulate them—that was the founding philosophy of Seongrak Tower (星落塔).
In simpler terms, it was about imitating Ascendants.
To become as strong as Ascendants, they imitated those who had already ascended, and if possible, wanted to accept their power as well.
[Seongrak Tower has tried to collect as many powerful technique books from the continent as possible to imitate the martial arts and magic of Ascendants. Among them are ones obtained from the ruins of ancient great sects and magic towers that were destroyed long ago, and ones they developed themselves. The Tower Lord’s library is famous for being filled with such top-tier technique books…]
This was the content written in the book titled “Explanation of Major Factions” that Lee Tae-sung had bought from a bookstore in Demenmark.
No wonder Yoo Baek had confidently said he would get the best stealth-type martial art.
He had a reliable source.
‘This is quite promising.’
A smile played on Lee Tae-sung’s lips.
He might end up with something far better than he had imagined.
And that night.
Lee Tae-sung went to the meeting place.
Near a slum in a corner of Demenmark.
It happened to be a moonless night, so the atmosphere was suspiciously thick.
Why did he ask to meet in a place like this? It felt like he was becoming a criminal for no reason.
Lee Tae-sung leaned against a wall, hiding in the shadows, and waited.
Yoo Baek showed up much later than the appointed time.
“Huff… huff… I’m not too late, am I?”
“I was about to leave, thinking I’d been stood up.”
“Haha. That would have been a shame.”
But one thing was strange: Yoo Baek looked quite exhausted.
His breathing was heavy, and his eyes cautiously scanned the surroundings.
Although he had received help from Lee Tae-sung during the war, he was still a Peak Realm expert.
His breathing shouldn’t be rough from just anything.
What could have worn him out so much?
Come to think of it, his clothes were also a bit unusual.
At a glance, he was wearing pitch-black night gear that was hard to notice.
Lee Tae-sung was about to ask why he needed to wear such clothes for a simple meeting, but before he could, Yoo Baek pulled out a book that looked quite old.
“Here. This is the price of my life.”
On the cover, in an antique handwriting, the words “空影隱法” (Kongyeongeunbeop) were written.
[Empty Shadow Concealment Art (空影隱法, Legendary)]
– Grade: Transcendental Realm Martial Art.
– Type: Stealth Technique.
Lee Tae-sung was startled when the information appeared before his eyes as soon as he received the book.
‘Transcendental Realm Martial Art?’
It was a martial art book of the same grade as the Heavenly Fire Holy Law Art.
He had expected to get something good since he had been told beforehand, but this good?
A Transcendental Realm martial art was classified as a top-priority technique book even in major sects!
“It seems that Seongrak Tower allows external distribution of such things if you’re a Tower Lord’s disciple?”
“No, it doesn’t.”
“…Excuse me?”
“So I stole it. Ha ha!”
Yoo Baek grinned widely.
“As a man, I can’t go back on my word. My master didn’t sleep until late, so it was hard to steal, but I succeeded in the end.”
“……”
“Ah, there is one thing to be careful of. You must be cautious when using this martial art near Seongrak Tower members or in cities where Seongrak Tower has branches. Since it’s a stealth technique, the chance of someone recognizing it is low, but just in case.”
“……”
Lee Tae-sung’s expression turned troubled.
He thought it was a joke, but he never expected him to actually steal it.
And at that moment.
—Yooooou little brat!!! Come out right now!
A booming voice loud enough to wake the entire city echoed.
Just feeling the power in the voice sent chills down one’s spine.
Lee Tae-sung immediately guessed what had happened.
The Seongrak Tower Lord must have found out about the theft and chased after them.
“Haah.”
A sigh escaped him involuntarily.
—
The next day.
As soon as dawn broke, Lee Tae-sung went to Seongrak Tower with Yoo Baek.
—Let’s return it.
—Huh?
—Keeping stolen goods like this just feels uncomfortable.
It’s a big problem if we get caught.
It’s better to return it cleanly.
—No… I went through all the trouble to get this…
Yoo Baek was reluctant, but Lee Tae-sung was firm.
Eating something that wasn’t meant for you would only cause trouble.
If he got on the bad side of a major faction like Seongrak Tower, his life in the Dream World would become incredibly annoying from now on.
He did covet the martial art, but he could still get a good skill using the Contribution Points he had saved up.
However, he waited until morning instead of going back that night, hoping the Tower Lord’s anger would cool down.
Wouldn’t his excitement have subsided a bit after some time?
“This is it. I didn’t think I’d be back here so soon on my own two feet.”
Yoo Baek scratched his head and guided him.
The major city where Seongrak Tower’s headquarters was located was said to have an impressive tower that pierced the sky, but unfortunately, in Demenmark, they were staying in a temporary building.
And the person here was none other than the Seongrak Tower Lord himself.
Normally, the Tower Lord should be at headquarters, but he had chased his disciple all the way to Demenmark because of his theft.
“You little brat, Yoo Baek!!!”
“…Haha… haha… Master. Good morning.”
Yoo Baek gave an awkward smile at the sight of his master, the Tower Lord, then immediately bowed his head so low it almost touched the ground.
“This worthless disciple has done wrong. Please forgive your anger.”
As he said that, he held out the Kongyeongeunbeop martial art book.
“Ha… You little brat. If you were going to bring it back anyway, why did you steal it in the first place?”
“It was to repay the debt of my life that I had promised.”
“The debt of your life? Someone saved you in this war?”
“Yes. This man here is the one who saved me—Sir Taeseong.”
Yoo Baek pointed at Lee Tae-sung beside him.
“I am Lee Tae-sung. It’s an honor to meet the renowned Seongrak Tower Lord.”
“…I am Matthias, the Seongrak Tower Lord. So you’re the famous Lee Tae-sung.”
“Do you know me?”
“Of course. The story of how you made the greatest contribution in the war against the Nameless Blood Cult has already spread widely to the rear. As a resident of the continent, I express my gratitude.”
“I’m embarrassed to hear such words from the Seongrak Tower Lord.”
“And I am truly grateful that you saved my disciple’s life in the process… But that aside, isn’t it wrong to try to steal our sect’s martial art?”
“Master! Do not insult Sir Taeseong! I was the one who stole it!”
Seeing the misunderstanding, Yoo Baek quickly interrupted.
At that, the Seongrak Tower Lord’s face turned red.
“This brat…! What have you ever done right?!”
“Ack! Ow!”
After a few hits, the Seongrak Tower Lord managed to calm down.
The price was a few bruises on Yoo Baek’s face.
“I’ll explain calmly, Master. Here’s what happened…”
Rubbing his bruised eye, Yoo Baek explained why he had stolen the martial art book for Lee Tae-sung.
From meeting him by chance while looking for a stealth-type martial art, to voluntarily stealing Seongrak Tower’s secret technique to repay the debt of his life.
“…That’s how it happened. If I saved your master’s favorite disciple’s life, don’t I deserve at least this much?!”
“Who said you’re my favorite disciple, you troublemaker?!”
“Ack! Your disciple is dying!”
With one more hit, Yoo Baek fell with a scream.
But despite his actions, Yoo Baek’s words were enough to convince Matthias.
He narrowed his brow, pondered something, and then spoke.
“So you went to the Shadow Knight Order to look for a stealth-type martial art?”
“I met Yoo Baek on the way there. To be precise, he said Seongrak Tower’s martial arts were far superior.”
“That much is true. Those bats aren’t bad, but the continent’s best martial arts and magic are preserved in Seongrak Tower!”
Matthias’s words were full of pride for his own organization.
“You also accumulated a lot of Contribution Points in this war?”
“Yes. I was lucky. I originally planned to use them to learn the Shadow Knight Order’s stealth techniques.”
“Then use those Contribution Points on our Seongrak Tower. In exchange, I’ll give you the Kongyeongeunbeop.”
“!”
No matter how many Contribution Points he spent, he couldn’t get the top-tier skills of a major faction.
Because they were their greatest assets, they wouldn’t release them even in the current continental crisis.
They were only releasing the level just below that, so he had planned to get that instead.
But Matthias had made a generous offer.
On top of that, his relationship with Seongrak Tower would also improve.
Yoo Baek’s face lit up.
“Master! You’ve made the right decision!”
“Paying Sir Taeseong properly is one thing, but you’re different. You’re a foolish and weak disciple. Your skills are lacking, so let’s spend some time training together.”
“…Huh?”
Yoo Baek’s face paled as Matthias grabbed him by the shoulder.
He looked at Lee Tae-sung with pleading eyes, but Lee Tae-sung, whose business was already done, quickly withdrew.
“I hope you two have a good time together as master and disciple. I’ll gratefully learn the martial art I received.”
“T-Taeseong-nim!”
“I’ll see you again another time. Farewell.”
Lee Tae-sung quickly left the two master and disciple behind.
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