The stele turned out to be a divine object that borrowed an extremely small portion of its power by praising the Outer God.
It was something he should never have gotten involved with, yet Lee Tae-sung, unaware, had brought it all the way home.
*’How was I supposed to know that?’*
Lee Tae-sung grumbled inwardly.
It had looked like an incredible item, so he picked it up, but it turned out to be like bringing a nuclear bomb about to explode right into his house.
“Then there’s no way to utilize this?”
“So you brought that dangerous thing here just to use it?”
“Yes.”
It was the device that had generated the black mist nullifying Hunters’ powers.
Moreover, the inscriptions on it were so potent that even Lee Tae-sung, a Peak Realm master, felt his mind being corrupted just by looking at them.
Such a remarkable item, and now he had to destroy it without any use?
“Not that I know of.”
“Hmm… I see.”
Lee Tae-sung’s shoulders drooped slightly in disappointment, but the Flame Emperor continued.
“That’s just what I think. But my knowledge isn’t everything in this world. Someone else might know a different way to use it.”
“If you, an Ascendant and my master, don’t know, then it’s safe to say no one does.”
But at Lee Tae-sung’s words, Goeseung shook his head.
“That’s not necessarily true, Benefactor.”
He thrust the Fire Palm onto the stele entirely.
A golden orb enveloped the stele, and at that, the Mad Demon and Flame Emperor also stopped being wary of it.
Goeseung had taken sufficient measures.
“We Ascendants are revered as demigods, but that’s limited to the fields each of us has walked. I pride myself on my knowledge of Buddhism and martial arts within that realm; Benefactor Flame Emperor is an expert in fire-type Hybrids, and Benefactor Mad Demon is an expert in the Demonic Arts she’s mastered. Likewise, there might be an expert in this kind of thing.”
“At the Celestial Realm where you reside, Elder?”
“Yes. A man named Hakseon.”
Unlike most Ascendants who ascended by mastering martial arts, magic, or Hybrid abilities, Hakseon uniquely ascended by acquiring knowledge in all fields.
“Perhaps Hakseon might know how to use this stele.”
“Hmm…”
Lee Tae-sung sank into thought.
Honestly, this stele seemed quite important, so he didn’t want to destroy it just like that.
If so, he needed to consult this Hakseon, but would that be easy?
*’…Doesn’t seem too difficult.’*
The residents of the Dream World revered the Ascendants as gods, but Lee Tae-sung could call upon them quite easily.
If he gave them a tablet as a gift, the connection would naturally continue, and he could summon them next time.
“Then, could I ask you Elders for a favor? I’d like to hear Hakseon’s opinion.”
“Of course, Disciple. It’s not difficult at all.”
“Amitabha. I owe you several favors, Benefactor, so I gladly oblige.”
“……!”
The Flame Emperor and Goeseung accepted without hesitation.
They even welcomed such a request.
The relationship between Lee Tae-sung and them was one-sided: Lee Tae-sung was the one giving.
Tablets, OTT services, various entertainments from the lower realm called Earth…
All of that required Lee Tae-sung’s skills, so they needed a moment to prove their own worth.
However, the Mad Demon, who always smiled cheerfully, wore a slightly troubled expression, as if she didn’t like something.
But only for a moment.
She too nodded reluctantly.
“I’ll try…”
Lee Tae-sung dismissed the summon, and the three Ascendants naturally returned to the Celestial Realm.
“Let’s go quickly. Before the battery finishes charging!”
The Flame Emperor spoke with an enthusiastic voice, leading the way.
They had one tablet each, three in total, but now they only brought one, and the other two were charging diligently at Lee Tae-sung’s house.
It was fast charging, and their goal was to return before the charging completed!
Like generals vowing to return before their drinks go cold, they moved.
The Celestial Realm had many terrains of continuous rugged mountain ridges, and the three advanced swiftly, stepping on thin air.
They had long since reached a realm where the roughness of the terrain no longer mattered.
How far had they gone?
They arrived at a small thatched cottage located in a geomancy spot with blooming vegetation halfway up the mountain.
From outside the cottage, a muttering sound was heard.
It was the sound of someone reading inside.
The Flame Emperor shook his head.
“That guy never gets tired. He must have found another book to read again.”
“I hear he occasionally uses his connections in the lower realm only to obtain new books. He truly is a peculiar Benefactor.”
Ascendants sometimes tour the lower realm thanks to the connections they left behind.
Unlike the boring life in the Celestial Realm, the lower realm was enjoyable, so everyone liked to go on excursions.
But Hakseon was different.
He wanted new books or scriptures to be found in his absence, and once he obtained them, he would leave the lower realm without regret.
Because of this peculiarity, some Ascendants treated Hakseon as a weirdo like the Flame Emperor, Goeseung, and Mad Demon.
Naturally, Hakseon disliked this treatment, so his relationship with them was not very good.
“With a guy like that, this tablet will drive him crazy enough to come to Earth. We got hooked like this, and a knowledge-crazed Hakseon would be no different.”
The Flame Emperor waved the tablet in his hand.
That was the reason they deliberately brought one.
“And the Mad Demon needs to do something… Hey, where did she go?”
The Flame Emperor looked around.
She had definitely been with them just a moment ago, but she had disappeared.
But when he sharpened his sensory detection, he felt her following them from a few steps behind, hidden.
“What are you doing?”
“Just leave her be, Benefactor. I know why the Mad Demon is acting that way.”
At Goeseung’s meaningful words, the Flame Emperor nodded, as if he guessed the reason too.
“Well… fine. I’ll tolerate this much, but if our persuasion doesn’t work, you have to help.”
****
After hearing the Mad Demon’s sound transmission, the Flame Emperor arrived at the cottage and made a polite request.
“Hakseon. It’s me, Flame Emperor. Please come out for a moment.”
After a while, the door opened, and an old man in a wide white robe walked out.
Wearing a headcloth, he frowned upon seeing the Flame Emperor and Goeseung.
“Aren’t you the ones always making noise in the Celestial Realm? What business do you have here?”
“I have something to show you, Hakseon.”
“No. Don’t disturb my studies. Go back.”
Hakseon waved his hand without even looking.
The Flame Emperor had already anticipated this kind of cold treatment, so he didn’t mind and turned on the tablet.
“Take a look at this! My new disciple lives in a lower realm called Earth, and he brought this from there. It’s called a K-drama. It’s so popular it’s shaking up that world, and it’s interesting! If you watch just a little, you’ll be hooked too, Hakseon!”
He turned on Squid Game, which all three had enjoyed.
The beginning of the first episode played, and as people moved and sounds came out from inside the rectangular stone, even the great Hakseon was surprised and stared at it.
The completely different technology of Earth made him admire it, even if he didn’t understand it.
But that was only for a moment.
Soon, he frowned.
“This… I don’t know exactly, but it must have been made by a craftsman with incredible skill.”
“Well, something like that.”
“And who are the people moving inside? They seem like they’re not real.”
“Correct. Your deduction is amazing. They are actors, performing a kind of opera—”
“Ah!!!”
“??”
“An opera?! Flame Emperor. At your age, do you still not study and just play all day?”
Hakseon was genuinely angry.
“You, Flame Emperor. Goeseung! Have you read the Four Books and Three Classics? Do you at least know the meaning and application of the virtue of moderation in the Doctrine of the Mean?”
“Uh…”
“Hmm…”
“Good heavens! I’m ashamed that such people are here in the Celestial Realm alongside me as fellow Ascendants! Please study! Knowledge is power, but is it not enough to rest and play every day? Now you’ve even brought entertainment from another lower realm? No matter how ignorant a martial artist might be, shouldn’t they fill their empty heads a little?!”
“……”
“……”
At the sudden torrent of scolding, the Flame Emperor and Goeseung fell silent.
In truth, Goeseung had studied Buddhism, so he wasn’t as ignorant as claimed, but he wasn’t well-versed in Confucianism.
But if they argued, things would get worse.
“Well, Goeseung. You do know some Buddhism. Then let’s have a debate on Buddhism with me. I have a Buddhist text I recently read…”
Though Goeseung enjoyed preaching, Hakseun’s enthusiasm was excessive.
Once, using the Ascendant’s trait of not needing sleep, he had been held captive for nearly a year discussing Buddhism before being released.
Because of that horrific experience, he just listened quietly to whatever Hakseon said.
They couldn’t subdue him by force either.
Hakseon was a man obsessed with study, and at one point, even martial arts and magic were part of that study.
All Streams Return to the Origin—he had mastered martial arts and magic to an incredible level, which allowed him to ascend.
“Oh, so don’t waste time on useless things. Go back and study! If you have nothing to do, I’ll share what I’ve recently learned. What I learned is…”
“Ah, no, that’s fine! Come to think of it, we’re not the only ones here. We’ve been talking just among ourselves!”
The Flame Emperor quickly cut him off and grabbed the Mad Demon, who was hiding behind them.
The Mad Demon thought ‘oops’ at the sudden ambush, but it was too late.
Hakseon’s eyes widened.
“Heavens. Could it be… Mad Demon. You came here too.”
“Ah, haha… It’s been a while.”
A sage obsessed with books and knowledge.
It was the same in the lower realm and also in the Celestial Realm.
But after ascending, Hakseon became even more obsessed with one thing.
That was the Mad Demon.
“Are you finally accepting my feelings?”
He had fallen for her at first sight!
Because of that, Hakseon had chased the Mad Demon for a long time, but she naturally refused, and they clashed for a long time.
****
****
****
The reason he had been holed up in his cottage, focused entirely on studying, was partly to soothe the pain of being rejected by the Mad Demon.
But now, that Mad Demon had come to visit!
****
Beside her, the Flame Emperor gestured urgently, signaling her to do so.
This was the second plan in case the tablet didn’t work.
A so-called honey trap.
“Acc…accept…”
But meditating for five years and only discussing was torture for the Mad Demon.
In the end, she gave up.
“Ugh… this just won’t work. Tactical retreat! Everyone run and prepare for later!”
The Mad Demon used her Lightfoot Technique to escape.
The Flame Emperor and Goeseung also bit their lower lips with disappointed expressions and followed her in retreat.