The world’s nations focused their attention on China.
To be precise, it was on the black mist of Shanghai.
-This time too, the black mist disappeared?
-The Hunter deployed was Lee Tae-sung from Korea.
-That’s certain.
He can eliminate the black mist.
The black mist that stripped Hunters of their power.
It was a troublesome area.
To make matters worse, monsters kept spawning inside, and people who hadn’t evacuated were trapped within.
Places where it had just appeared were fine, but areas where a bit of time had passed had already turned into apocalypses.
Since Hunters couldn’t use their strength, rescue teams couldn’t enter.
From outside, all they could do was watch.
But then the black mists in Japan and China disappeared.
Both right after Lee Tae-sung entered.
Once could be dismissed as coincidence, but twice was another story.
It was pure skill!
-Don’t Koreans dislike China and Japan?
-He probably removed the black mist in both countries at the government’s request.
If they meet his conditions, they might get him to come to their country.
-Maybe even naturalize…
They would need to consider what conditions to offer Lee Tae-sung, but one thing was certain.
They had to make contact with him first!
*
While the world’s leaders focused on Lee Tae-sung, the MegaFactory completion ceremony began.
“Hoho. Congratulations.”
“Thank you for coming, Senator Zhang Lifeng.”
“I had to come and congratulate you.”
Zhang Lifeng, Senator and father of Jang Xuan, came forward to shake hands.
Although it was a fairly large factory, it wasn’t the kind of place a figure like him would normally attend for a single factory’s completion ceremony.
And it didn’t end there.
“The Chairman said he’d be a little late because he was finishing up a tight schedule. He told me to convey his apologies.”
“That’s fine.”
“He said he had to meet an important guest first, but he’d be quick and come right away, so it won’t be too late.”
He had also received word that the Chairman would attend the ceremony.
He had planned a modest gathering with just a few acquaintances, but with the Chairman and a Senator coming, all kinds of high-ranking Chinese politicians and entrepreneurs ended up participating.
‘Why is the Chairman coming all of a sudden…?’
It was baffling that the Chinese Chairman, with whom he had no particular connection, would attend.
Then something came to mind.
When he had come to China on the private jet, he remembered seeing news that the China-Japan summit was today…
‘Don’t tell me the urgent matter was…?’
Lee Tae-sung forced himself to stop thinking.
What did it matter if his guess was right or not?
What was important was that the completion ceremony had turned into a very large-scale event.
“I truly thank you for resolving the black mist incident. The promises I made verbally will definitely be kept. I swear on my honor as Zhang Lifeng!”
“Thank you.”
Lee Tae-sung’s feat of eliminating the black mist, along with the testimonies of the Shinseonhyang Guild members who went in with him, had been heard by China’s high-ranking officials.
They listened and made a comprehensive evaluation:
-They must secure a relationship with Lee Tae-sung!
It was no accident that China had once competed for hegemony with the United States.
Their ability to grasp the current and read the situation was excellent.
In their eyes, Lee Tae-sung was someone they had to hold onto no matter what.
The fact that he was close with Zhang Lifeng and Jang Xuan was very favorable from their perspective.
If they continued to get friendlier, maybe at some point he’d even change his nationality…?
Of course, they weren’t thinking that far ahead yet.
For now, they purely wanted to build a friendship with Lee Tae-sung.
Who knew, maybe he could help them like he did with this black mist incident!
Lee Tae-sung exchanged greetings with all sorts of politicians.
Next came people from the guilds.
“Hello. I am Wang Feng, Guild Leader of the Celestial Direction Guild.”
“I’m from the Crimson Nebula Guild…”
Guild leaders, all above Ranker level, lined up to greet Lee Tae-sung.
Their purpose was one.
‘Elixirs are produced at this factory?!’
‘If I take one, I’ll be able to use skills even in the black mist…’
‘If those arrogant Shinseonhyang guys personally confirmed it and went crazy over it, then the information must be accurate!’
‘I have to sign a contract and buy it no matter what!’
Generally, the number of Hunters was proportional to the population.
Naturally, China had a huge number of Hunters.
No matter how big the factory was, it was hard to imagine that the output from just one factory could cover all Chinese Hunters.
These people had grown up feeling China’s overflowing population in their bones since childhood.
That was why they predicted a supply shortage even with such a large factory.
Hence the urgent line-forming.
“Hey. You there. Move aside, will you? Don’t you know I’m the Guild Leader of the Yellow River Guild?”
“Yellow River Guild Leader? How many years have you been around? Are you higher than me?”
“How old are you?”
“Hey! That guy cut in line! Grab him!”
It was utter chaos.
Hunters were treated well wherever they went, and Rankers especially tried to maintain dignity.
But here, none of that mattered.
The moment you fell behind, you were eliminated!
And watching this, Lee Tae-sung had to hold back a smile of joy.
‘My factory’s completion ceremony is off to a great start!’
From a factory owner’s perspective, the scariest thing was having no orders so the factory sat idle.
Even if it ran 24/7, it wouldn’t be enough, so wasting that precious time was unthinkable.
Thus, the influx of potential buyers was a good sign.
*
Amid such interest, the completion ceremony ended in great success.
He had briefly spoken with the Chairman, who had come in the middle, and after the ceremony, he kept greeting the people who swarmed him, until it was already late at night.
“Haha…”
But accepting them with a smile was fine once or twice. As the hours passed and people kept coming, it became exhausting.
He had already forgotten most of the names he heard for the first time.
The number of business cards he received was in the hundreds.
Since the owners of those cards all wielded significant influence in their respective fields, he couldn’t just throw them away.
That was when Huang Tao came to his rescue.
“The Sword Immortal wishes to meet you.”
Sword Immortal Cheon Jun.
China’s top Ranker had come all the way to Shanghai to see him.
When Huang Tao relayed this to the others, they reluctantly released Lee Tae-sung, though with regret.
The Sword Immortal’s reputation made even high-ranking politicians tread carefully.
A Hunter even the Chairman didn’t dare treat lightly.
A living legend in name alone.
“Let’s go right away.”
Lee Tae-sung set off to meet him.
*
“The Sword Immortal doesn’t care much about things other than the sword. That includes personal relationships. So if you hear anything from him, don’t take it too personally. It’s not meant to upset you, Guild Leader Taeseong.”
Huang Tao said this on the way.
It was a long speech, but the gist was simple.
‘He’s probably not a very polite person.’
‘Our guild leader tends to say things that might offend you, so you should bear with it.’
Wasn’t that what it meant?
“I understand.”
Lee Tae-sung nodded casually.
Now that he was a Hunter, such things didn’t happen, but back when he worked at a small-to-medium enterprise, being looked down on was the norm.
The boss’s younger brother as a department head, the department head’s son as a section chief, the boss’s close friend as a director…
Those people had bad personalities and would occasionally look down on regular employees.
Back then, he had gotten angry but let it slide as part of social life.
He figured he needed to adopt a similar mindset again.
“This way.”
Huang Tao led him to a large mansion on the outskirts of Shanghai.
It was only fitting that the Guild Leader of Shinseonhyang owned villas in multiple cities.
This was one of them.
They entered the mansion and went up to the top floor.
“I’ll say it once more. Please don’t take our guild leader’s words too badly. I know it sounds bad again, but he’s so skilled and so obsessed with the sword that he doesn’t bother with trivial manners and speaks bluntly.”
Huang Tao said with an apologetic expression, clearly worried.
The Shinseonhyang Guild had succeeded in being the first to sign an elixir purchase contract, but if this meeting soured Lee Tae-sung’s mood, the purchase might be cancelled.
The Shinseonhyang Guild always had to be the best.
As Vice Guild Leader, Huang Tao absolutely could not allow that.
“Don’t worry. I understand completely.”
“Thank you. Then, I’ll go in now.”
“Yes.”
Knock, knock
“Guild Leader. I’ve brought the guest.”
Huang Tao said this and opened the door.
He gestured for Lee Tae-sung to go in first.
Lee Tae-sung stepped inside.
What he saw was a middle-aged man wearing a long robe resembling a dragon robe, with graying hair neatly pushed back.
He had been looking out the window, holding a single sword in his right hand, but as Lee Tae-sung entered, he turned his gaze to look at him.
“……”
“……”
Their eyes met in the air.
Lee Tae-sung was startled.
‘A Peak Master?’
Sword Immortal Cheon Jun.
He was actually a Peak Master!
He even seemed to be nearly at the Peak Absolute Master level.
If one considered only his realm, he was at a higher level than Lee Tae-sung.
He was even stronger than Alex, the first Hunter who created the Dream World connection device.
The title of Earth’s strongest was no lie.
“…Hah. I thought there was no one on Earth as strong as me, but…”
Cheon Jun also looked surprised.
His eyes wavered. A hint of delight flickered in his pupils.
“It’s a pleasure. I am Cheon Jun.”
“I’m Lee Tae-sung.”
“I heard you went inside that black mist place with our guild members this time.”
“They were a great help.”
“Nonsense. If they didn’t hold you back, that’s good enough. You must have worked hard looking after those blockheads.”
“Haha…”
As the two exchanged names, Huang Tao stared in shock from the side.
‘Since when could our guild leader speak so kindly!?’
The meeting with Cheon Jun he had imagined was nothing like this.
‘Same level as me? What a waste of air. A Hunter of that caliber wasting my precious time?’
That was exactly what he had said when he met a promising rookie and his guild leader from China not long ago.
To make matters worse, it was true that he had subdued that Ranker guild leader, who had actually charged at him in anger, in a single day.
The combination of supreme skill and poor personality.
That had been Sword Immortal Cheon Jun.
“Would you like a cup of tea? Apart from the sword, the only hobby I enjoy is the tea ceremony. I’d like to serve you.”
‘Tea, too?’
Huang Tao was so startled he almost cried out.
Cheon Jun almost never served tea to anyone. Even his trusted subordinates could barely get a taste of the rare tea he had.
That was why Huang Tao had been studying the tea ceremony in his spare time, trying to please Cheon Jun.
“I don’t know much about tea, but I’d be grateful if you offered it.”
“It’s fine if you don’t know. You learn by drinking. I’ll explain everything to you step by step.”
Cheon Jun smiled happily as he turned on the kettle to boil water.
Then he took out some tea leaves.
Huang Tao’s eyes widened when he realized it was the finest quality tea that even he had never been able to taste.