Lee Tae-sung had slept for almost an entire day.
“Ugh… I’m dying.”
Even after waking from a deep sleep, his condition was a mess.
His entire body was screaming.
He could feel that the problem wasn’t just on the surface of his body, but deep within its very core.
*’This doesn’t seem to be simple mana exhaustion.’*
He hadn’t even properly observed his own state, but he could tell it was serious.
The Flame Emperor had wanted to sightsee Earth until the very last possible second, which had given Tae-sung a nosebleed and brought him to the brink of coughing up blood.
He had reverse-summoned just before that point, but that wasn’t the issue.
It was something more fundamental.
*’I summoned an existence far too excessive for my current realm.’*
It was similar to Sword Qi.
Thanks to his superior mana hybrid nature and swordsmanship, he could wield power beyond the realm of Sword Qi, but overusing it caused the recoil to accumulate in his body.
Moreover, summoning and maintaining an Ascendant like the Flame Emperor would require incomparably more power than something like Sword Qi.
*’From now on, I really should only summon him at critical moments.’*
If he abused the summoning anytime he wanted, his body wouldn’t be able to handle it, and it was clear he would cross an irreversible river at some point.
Getting up from his spot, Tae-sung opened the very bottom drawer.
Inside were three bottles containing a shimmering blue liquid.
The five bottles of Elixir that Jang Xuan had given him some time ago, claiming he made them using a secret method of the Red Magic Tower.
He had consumed one himself and given one to Senator Zhang Lifeng.
This wasn’t just an Elixir that increased mana capacity; it also had healing properties, so he hadn’t sold them and had kept them stored.
Since they couldn’t be mass-produced and their mana-boosting effect wasn’t that great, he had thought it would be better to save them to use appropriately if any injured Hunter came along later.
But who would have thought that injured Hunter would be Lee Tae-sung himself?
*’It’s a waste… but now is not the time to be stingy about such things.’*
If you drink the same Elixir a second time, it has almost no effect.
However, without the Elixir’s help, he couldn’t guarantee how long it would take to recover on his own.
It was much better to take it now and recover quickly, even if it felt a bit wasteful.
*Gulp—*
Tae-sung downed the entire bottle of Elixir in one go, then sat still, regulating his breathing as he began to circulate the Heavenly Fire Holy Law Art.
The Heavenly Fire Holy Law Art, containing the power of purification, inherently possessed weak recovery abilities.
With the Elixir’s power added on top, his damaged meridians, dantian, and heart gradually began to stabilize.
“Hoo….”
After circulating his energy for a long time, Tae-sung opened his eyes.
An astonishing change had occurred within his body.
The Elixir he drank for internal injury recovery had not only healed his body but had also significantly increased his mana capacity!
Normally, the same Elixir shouldn’t have any effect, but it seemed an unknown interaction occurred as his body was healed.
*’Does this mean I could see effects even if I get injured again and drink it later?’*
Should I summon my teacher one more time?
That thought suddenly crossed his mind, but he immediately shook his head and dismissed it.
If he overexerted himself again, his body could be damaged even more severely.
What if the healing effect diminished next time?
There was no need to take such a risk.
Abeson, who had emerged from the Death Spirit Pill at some point and was floating, looking down at Tae-sung.
“Yes. Not perfectly, but I’m over 80% recovered.”
He had almost been on the verge of suffering for quite a long time.
“By the way, why didn’t you come out, Commissioner Abeson?”
Tae-sung asked, puzzled.
From the moment they first met, Abeson had sung songs about the Flame Emperor almost every day, and his eyes had practically rolled back into his head when he heard that his son, Leo, had become the Flame Emperor’s comrade.
Yet, this Abeson hadn’t shown even a hint of his presence when Tae-sung summoned the Flame Emperor this time.
“You could have asked him face-to-face for more details. Of course, I couldn’t last long, so there wasn’t much time, but you could have asked a few questions.”
<…It’s because.>
“Huh?”
“……?”
When Tae-sung looked at him as if asking what he meant, Abeson awkwardly averted his gaze.
“……”
Tae-sung was speechless.
He was truly dumbfounded, but…
*…Actually, that might be possible.’*
Considering the Flame Emperor’s personality, which he had witnessed and heard about so far, it really might be possible.
Abeson had made a wise choice.
***
A space filled only with darkness.
Originally, this space was filled with malevolent will.
A place seething with malice to kill and take from others.
The beings with writhing tentacles were originally vanguard troops, the advance force for attack.
But now, they were shrouded in fear.
“This is truly unbelievable. It was strange enough just sensing the aura of Cheonoecheon… but for that existence to actually descend upon Earth…”
How terrifying Cheonoecheon was.
A land filled with transcendents who had awakened their own enlightenment and escaped the cycle of mortality.
Even the Outer Gods they served didn’t dare to recklessly covet it, only occasionally probing, avoiding direct confrontation.
And yet, on Earth—a place they thought had no gods and would be easy to conquer—they sensed the aura of Ascendants from Cheonoecheon.
Moreover, it wasn’t just sensing the aura; it had intruded into this black space and taken one of their own away.
Back then, they were so shocked.
Even now, a long time later, it was the reason they trembled in fear.
“That’s right. It makes no sense. From the moment we set our sights on Earth, we checked if there were any other competitors.”
“There clearly weren’t any. That’s why we started our work slowly.”
“But… if it’s those monsters from Cheonoecheon, they could have set their sights on Earth without us knowing. Their abilities are beyond our discernment.”
“Monsters, huh. Those guys.”
The expressions of the tentacled aberrations darkened.
They had been happily extending their hands, thinking it was a land without gods, only to crash into such a massive hidden reef.
“But we can’t stop here. The Outer God will not forgive us.”
“That’s true. We must devise some plan.”
“First, let’s abandon the thought of fighting them head-on. If an Ascendant is secretly active on Earth, we just have to deal with them from a different angle.”
“I’ve heard most Ascendants are of a benevolent disposition. Let’s use that to find a breakthrough.”
“Benevolent beings can’t stand to see humans sacrificed before their eyes. If we play our cards right, we might even trap them.”
Their meeting in the darkness continued for quite a long time.
***
Before logging back into Dream World.
Lee Tae-sung contacted Section Chief Song Sang-yeop.
“Yes, Section Chief. The reason I contacted you today is that I’d like to purchase a house.”
The memory of the Flame Emperor looking at him with pitying eyes kept nagging at him.
He could accept the misunderstanding about lacking skill, since that was true, but the misunderstanding about not having money was hard to swallow.
His Elixir business was doing so well right now!
The backlog of orders alone was enormous.
Naturally, just from the deposits, enough money had accumulated to buy several expensive apartments in Seoul, and now he planned to use it.
*’Next time I summon him, I’ll have to surprise him so much his eyes roll back.’*
If I’m going to do it, I’ll go for the absolute best place!
-I was waiting for you to say that.
He had contacted Section Chief Song Sang-yeop with that intention, and the chief answered as if he had been waiting.
-I’ve been concerned about you staying in that studio apartment for so long.
I wondered if there was a reason you were deliberately not moving, so I didn’t bring it up separately, but it seems that’s not the case.
“I was just busy.”
-Understood.
As it happens, I’ve had a few places picked out for a while now.
Each one is nothing but the highest quality, so I’ll organize the information and contact you.
As he had felt before, Section Chief Song Sang-yeop’s work ability was truly exceptional.
He was quick on the uptake, and sometimes he even prepared what was needed without being asked.
“Thank you.”
Ending the call like that, Tae-sung logged into Dream World.
His vision changed, and when he opened his eyes, he saw the stone chamber inside the Earth Dragon’s belly.
Since there was nothing more to see here, he retraced his steps and came out.
He could see the massive form of the Earth Dragon, still with its mouth wide open, motionless.
*’Who would have thought the Earth Dragon was also connected to the Flame Emperor.’*
– Ah, that guy.
He’s a fellow I found by chance when I was bored traveling alone and raised.
The Earth Dragon?
I gave him some of the Elixir I stole so he could live a long, healthy life and had him learn a suitably modified martial art.
Is he still alive?
The Earth Dragon, the king revered by all practitioners of Jiryong Mountain, turned out to be…
A pet raised by the Flame Emperor.
When he heard that story, Tae-sung, surprisingly, wasn’t that shocked.
He had experienced enough shocking things once or twice; he could handle this level now.
The Earth Dragon was originally guarding the Elixir and gold ring entrusted by the Flame Emperor, but as its body grew too large, it had swallowed them and was guarding them inside its belly.
Then, Tae-sung, who emitted an aura similar to the Flame Emperor’s, came along, and it opened the way for him.
“I’ll be going now.”
When Tae-sung bowed respectfully, the Earth Dragon nodded once as if asking if he was done with his business, then solidified its body again like a stone statue.
It had immersed itself in cultivation once more.
*’I’d like to cultivate here too.’*
Lee Tae-sung’s primary goal to achieve from now on.
That was to break through the wall before him and ascend to the Peak Realm.
He had entered the realm of a first-class master, and in terms of power alone, he could display Peak Realm levels, but it was still insufficient.
Only by truly raising his realm would many of the restrictions on summoning the Flame Emperor or unleashing his own power disappear.
First, after descending Jiryong Mountain, Tae-sung set his direction toward a nearby city.
He planned to return to the Red Magic Tower, report the completion of his request, and then think about how to proceed with his training.
“You wish to go to the metropolis of Elleun? That will be 65 Gold one way, dear customer~”
“…… ”
He paid the exorbitant teleportation circle fee, his hand trembling just like when he came.
If he didn’t do this, it would take an enormous amount of time just to return, so there was no other choice.
*-Whoosh!*
After a short charging period, he stepped onto the magic circle and arrived instantly at the Red Magic Tower’s Elleun branch.
Tae-sung left a message that he wanted to meet Serena and stepped outside for a moment.
Having been inside waiting for the magic circle’s mana to charge, he intended to get some fresh air.
Someone was sweeping the front courtyard of the Red Magic Tower branch with a broom.
Thinking it was a working servant, he didn’t pay much mind, but when he accidentally saw the person’s face, he was utterly shocked.
“D-Dam hyeong!?”
It was Elder Dam Ho-pung of the Flying Dragon Clan!
Dam Ho-pung, startled by Tae-sung’s call, sharply turned his head.
“W-what? Ah… little brother. It was you?”
“What are you doing here?”
“Uh… ahem. Don’t you know, little brother? Then why are you here?”
“I had a request to complete. I came to report its completion.”
“Ahh… I see.”
“Then what about you, hyeong…?”
Dam Ho-pung subtly hid the broom behind his back and spoke awkwardly.
“Well, you see… a tremendously powerful master has come to the Red Magic Tower this time. I wanted to ask for some advice from that person and… it’s nothing much.”
“What does that have to do with sweeping?”
“That person is said to value a humble attitude as a virtue. If a Peak Master-level person like me is sweeping the courtyard with a broom, wouldn’t they view me favorably?”
“…… ”
*’They’d probably think you’re a lunatic.’*
Tae-sung couldn’t bring himself to say that out loud.